Canted coil springs, connectors and related methods

ABSTRACT

Connector assemblies formed by attaching two stamped housing sections to form a connector housing having a housing groove with a groove bottom and two side walls are disclosed. Using stamped housing sections can reduce manufacturing costs and simplifies assembly, among other things. The connector housings with a canted coil spring can be used as a mechanical connector and/or as an electrical connector for numerous applications and across numerous industries. The canted coil springs can have complex shapes, with optional dimples.

FIELD OF ART

The present disclosure generally relates to canted coil springs andtheir applications, such as in connector applications having a connectorhousing and a pin and more particularly to connector housings made fromstamped housing sections, stamped housing sections as part of amechanical connector, as part of an electrical connector, in a medicalapplication, and as methods for forming and using the stamped housingsections.

BACKGROUND

Implantable stackable lead connectors to date consist of a series ofmachined housings, also referred to as conductive contacts, separated bysealing members and wherein a spring contact is held in a groove definedat least in part by each machined housing section. Due to toleranceconcerns and critical dimension constraints, the housing components mayneed to be precision machined, resulting in a high cost connector.Furthermore, as the size of the connectors decrease, the housings becomevery difficult to machine. Exemplary implantable medical connectors arediscussed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,437,855, the contents of which areexpressly incorporated herein by reference for purposes of generallydisclosing IMDs and in-line connectors used with IMDs and components forforming or making in-line connectors. Connectors are also known for useas mechanical fasteners, as electrical connectors, as latchingconnectors, as holding connectors and as locking connectors. Theseconnectors typically have a housing with a bore and a pin either with orwithout a pin groove. A spring is placed in the groove, either of thehousing or the pin, for forming a connection between the pin and thehousing, which can be a holding connection type, a latching connectiontype in which the pin is allowed to be removed from the housing, or alocking connection type in which the pin is not allowed to be removedfrom the housing unless the connector, such as the spring, is destroyed.When the housing and the pin are coupled to an electrical source or nodeto pass current or electrical signals there-across, the connector canalso carry current and functions as an electrical connector. Exemplaryconnectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,210; 5,082,390;5,411,348; and 8,297,662.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure include a connector with springcontact housings formed from stamped components to achieve lowmanufacturing costs, reduced connector length, reduced stress and chanceof mis-orientation of the spring contact when installed into thehousing. The connector can also include testing capabilities to confirmproper performance prior to completing assembly of the housing. Althoughthe housings have contours and shapes that are formed by cold workingand pressure, some part or parts of the housing may optionally bemachined.

Due to the nature of stamped components, the housing components can bemade with very consistent dimensions and thinner when compared tomachined housings, which may reduce the overall length of the connectorand potentially reduce the size of the implantable device or other smallapplications.

The multi-piece housings described herein can allow the spring contacts,such as canted coil springs, to be installed within the housingassemblies with reduced deflection, stress, mis-orientation, orcombinations thereof. Furthermore, multi-piece housings can allow forproper placement and performance of spring contacts within themulti-piece housings to be tested, adjusted, and confirmed before thehousing is completely assembled.

A further feature of the present disclosure is an in-line series ofstackable contact assemblies that can be used with sealing members, eachcontact assembly comprising a housing and a spring, the housing beingformed from at least one stamped component being joined to a surface oranother stamped component and forming a groove in which the springcontact is retained. Exemplary stackable components used with sealingmembers are disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 2014/0079476, the contentsof which are expressly incorporated herein by reference to disclosestackable in-line features and encapsulation layers for use withconnector housings disclosed herein and canted coil springs disclosedherein.

The connector whereby the housing can be formed from two identicalstamped components joined together. In other examples, the two stampedhousing sections that are joined are not identical. In yet otherexamples, the housing can be joined to a surface, such as a housing bodywith planar surfaces and an opening.

The connector whereby the components that form the housing can be joinedtogether by welding or physically supporting.

The connector whereby the housing can have an exterior groove or aninterior groove to support a spring.

The connector wherein the housing section can be connected to anelectrical lead. The connector whereby the groove can be used for linearpositioning of components within the connector.

The connector whereby the groove bottom can be flat and can contact acanted coil spring having a plurality of coils and wherein the pluralityof coils each has a dimple to form two contact points with the groovebottom compared to a single point when no dimple is formed on a curvedsurface.

The connector whereby the spring can be a canted coil spring, a garterspring, a cantilever spring, or a ribbon spring.

Another feature of the present disclosure is a method of testing theperformance of a spring contact of a connector. The method can comprisethe step of obtaining an in-line series of stackable contact assembliesand sealing members, each contact assembly comprising a housing and aspring contact, the housing being formed from at least one stampedcomponent being joined to another component and forming a groove inwhich the spring contact is retained, prior to complete assembly of thehousing by holding the components that form the housing together withthe spring contact installed in the housing and inserting a lead to findinsertion, removal, and frictional forces, and electrical performance.

The connector assembly wherein both housing sections can be formed froma blank in a stamping process.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the housing groove. The canted coil spring can have coils having avariety of different shapes, other than elliptical and rectangular, andcan optionally include a dimple or two dimples formed on each coil. Thedimple can be formed by creating a concave bend along an arc section ofthe coil or by forming an internal or interior loop.

The connector assembly wherein the canted coil spring can have a smallerinside diameter than diameters of the two openings defining the commonbore of the housing.

The connector assembly wherein the canted coil spring can have a largerinside diameter than a diameter of a housing bore.

The connector assembly can further comprise a pin projecting through thecommon bore and the spring center.

The connector assembly can further comprise a seal element having a borewith a seal lip, said seal element abutting the connector housing andsealingly located inside a header of an implantable medical device.

The connector assembly can further comprise a second connector housingabutting the seal element and a second seal element abutting the secondconnector housing; and wherein said second connector housing has acanted coil spring located therein.

The connector assembly wherein the interface of the housing sections orbetween a housing section and a surface can be welded.

The connector assembly can further comprise a header attached to a canhousing of an implantable medical device, and wherein the connectorhousing can be disposed inside the header adjacent a seal element havinga bore aligned with the common bore.

The connector assembly wherein said first housing section and saidsecond housing section can be identical.

The connector assembly wherein said connector housing can form aU-shaped groove or a V-shaped groove.

Yet another feature of the present disclosure is a method for making aconnector housing comprising stamping a first housing section andstamping a second housing section. The method can further compriseplacing a canted coil spring inside said first housing section andattaching said first housing section to said second housing section toform a connector housing comprising a common bore and a housing groovecomprising a groove bottom and two sidewalls. The groove bottom can beflat, such as forming an orthogonal surface with the sidewalls, or canbe tapered relative to the sidewalls.

Another method for making a connector housing comprises stamping a firsthousing section, placing a canted coil spring inside said first housing,and attaching said first housing section to a surface of a housing body,which does not have to be cold worked with a die, to form a connectorhousing comprising a common bore and a housing groove comprising agroove bottom and two side walls.

The method wherein said canted coil spring can be placed in the housinggroove after said attaching step or before said attaching step.

The method can further comprise the step of placing said connectorhousing in contact with a seal element and into a header of animplantable medical device.

The method can further comprise placing said connector housing incontact with a seal element and into an encapsulation layer to form anencapsulated stack.

A further feature of the present disclosure is a connector assemblycomprising a connector housing comprising a first housing sectionattached to a second housing section and having an interior cavity witha housing groove comprising a groove bottom. The housing groove canfurther comprise one or two sidewalls. If one sidewall, the bottomsurface can be slanted and extend into one of the two openings of thehousing bore. The first housing section can comprise a first bottom wallwith an endmost surface and/or a first sidewall coupled to the firstbottom wall at an angle. The second housing section can comprise asecond bottom wall with an endmost surface and/or a first sidewallcoupled to the first bottom wall at an angle. The second housing sectioncan also be a contact surface. The housing groove can be cooperativelydefined by the first and second bottom walls attached to one another attheir respective endmost surfaces or the endmost surface of the firstbottom wall attached to the contact surface.

The connector assembly wherein the first housing section and the secondhousing section can be substantially identical.

The connector assembly wherein the first and second housing sections caneach have a bore and the first and second sidewalls extend inwardly todefine two bores.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the housing groove. The canted coil spring can have a smaller insidediameter than the bores of the housing sections. The canted coil springcan have coils with shapes other than elliptical and rectangular. Thecoils can optionally have one or two dimples.

The connector assembly can further comprise a pin projecting through thebores of the housing sections and the inside diameter of the canted coilspring can be smaller than a nominal diameter of the pin.

The connector assembly wherein an outer perimeter of the connectorhousing can be circular and the first and second sidewalls can extendoutwardly to define an external groove.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the external groove, wherein the canted coil spring can have a largeroutside diameter than outer perimeters of the housing sections.

The connector assembly can further comprise an external housing having abore. The bore can have a smaller nominal diameter than the outsidediameter of the canted coil spring.

The connector assembly wherein an angle between the bottom wall and thesidewall of the housing section can be substantially perpendicular.

The connector assembly wherein an angle between the bottom wall and thesidewall of the housing section can be an obtuse angle.

The connector assembly wherein the first and second housing can beattached together by welding or held together by an encapsulation layer.

Another feature of the present disclosure is a connector assemblycomprising a connector housing comprising a housing section attached toa contact surface of a body and having an interior cavity with a housinggroove comprising a groove bottom. The housing groove can further have asidewall coupled to the groove bottom opposite the contact surface. Thehousing section can comprise a bottom wall having an end most surfaceand/or a sidewall coupled to the bottom wall at an angle. The housinggroove can be cooperatively defined by the end most surface of thebottom wall of the housing section attached to the surface. Theconnector assembly wherein the housing section can have a bore, and thesidewall can extend inwardly to define the bore.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the housing groove, wherein the canted coil spring can have a smallerinside diameter than the bore of the housing section and the body. Thecanted coil spring can have coils with shapes other than elliptical andrectangular. The coils can optionally have one or two dimples.

The connector assembly of claim can further comprise a pin projectingthrough the bores of the housing section and the body, and the insidediameter of the canted coil spring is smaller than a nominal diameter ofthe pin.

The connector assembly of claim wherein an outer perimeter of theconnector housing can be circular, and the first and second sidewallscan extend outwardly to define an external groove.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the external groove, wherein the canted coil spring can have a largeroutside diameter than outer perimeters of the housing section and thebody.

The connector assembly can further comprise an external housing having abore, wherein the bore of the external housing can have a smallernominal diameter than the outside diameter of the canted coil spring.

The connector assembly wherein an angle between the bottom wall and thesidewall of the housing section can be substantially perpendicular.

The assembly wherein the housing groove can be V-shaped withoutsidewalls.

The connector assembly can further comprise a lead passing through anopening through the surface of the body and electrically connecting tothe housing section.

Yet another feature of the present disclosure is a method for making aconnector housing. The method can comprise stamping a first housingsection, the first housing section can comprise a first bottom wallhaving an end most surface and a first sidewall coupled to the firstbottom wall at an angle to define a first recessed space.

The method can further comprise stamping a second housing section, thesecond housing section can comprise a second bottom wall having an endmost surface and a first sidewall coupled to the first bottom wall at anangle to thereby define a second recessed space. The second housingsection can alternatively comprise a contact surface.

The method can further comprise placing a canted coil spring inside afirst recessed space.

The method can further comprise attaching said first housing section tosaid second housing section to form a connector housing having aninterior cavity with a housing groove comprising a groove bottom and twosidewalls.

The method wherein the housing groove can be cooperatively defined bythe first and second bottom walls attached to one another at theirrespective endmost surfaces or the endmost surface of the first bottomwall attached to the contact surface.

The method wherein said canted coil spring can be placed in contact withsaid first housing section after said attaching step.

The method can further comprise placing said connector housing incontact with a seal element and into a header of an implantable medicaldevice.

The method wherein the first housing section can be attached to thesecond housing section by welding or held together by an encapsulationlayer.

It has been found that the elliptical profile of typical canted coilsprings may result in rolling of the canted coil spring within groovesand out of optimal position during spring engagement, connection,vibration, or installation, resulting in inconsistent performance,undesirable connection force variations, or improper connector function.A V-bottom groove configuration may be used to address this issue bykeeping the canted coil spring centered within the groove anddiscouraging roll. However, this groove configuration requiresadditional or more complex fabrication and can increase manufacturingcosts. As such, housings formed with one or more stamped housingsections and having a V-bottom can continue to be used with traditionalelliptical shaped coils of canted coil springs as these housings areless complex and less costly to manufacture. Alternatively, canted coilsprings can be modified for use with flat bottom grooves and address theissue of rolling. These modified shaped canted coil springs can also beused with housings formed with stamped housing sections.

The canted coil springs having a plurality of coils all canted in thesame direction along a centerline and applications of the canted coilsprings of the present disclosure can advantageously address the rollingissue of a conventional canted coil spring located within grooves, ofincreased manufacturing costs due to complex groove configurations,regarding a tendency to come out of its groove during operation,vibration or shock, unwanted slipping in rotary applications, and alimited number of electrical contact points by providing a canted coilspring with complex coil shape to improve connector performance byovercoming the mentioned issues, among others.

Aspects of the present disclosure include a canted coil spring withcomplex coil shape for improving connector performance comprising acontinuous plurality of coils and a spring axis through said coils; eachcoil comprising a coil shape and a cross-sectional axis and canted aboutsaid cross-sectional axis; said coil shape can be defined by twogenerally parallel straight segments with an elliptical segment at eachend of the two generally parallel straight segments that joins thestraight segments together.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein the cross-sectional axis can be generallyperpendicular to the generally parallel straight segments.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein the cross-sectional axis can be generally parallelto the generally parallel straight segments.

Another feature of the present disclosure is a canted coil spring withcomplex coil shape for improving connector performance comprising acontinuous plurality of coils and a spring axis through said coils; eachcoil comprising a coil shape and a cross-sectional axis and canted aboutsaid cross-sectional axis; said coil shape can be defined by a polygonalgeometry.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein the cross-sectional axis can be generally parallelto a straight segment of said polygonal geometry of said coil shape.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said polygonal geometry can be a triangle.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said triangle can be an isosceles triangle.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said triangle can be a right triangle.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said polygonal geometry can be a rectangle.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said polygonal geometry can be a parallelogram.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said polygonal geometry can be a pentagon.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said polygonal geometry can be five sided.

Yet further aspects of the present disclosure include a canted coilspring with complex coil shape for improving connector performancecomprising a continuous plurality of coils of wire, a spring axisthrough said coils, and a cross-sectional profile when viewed in thedirection of said spring axis; each coil canted about an axis generallyperpendicular to said spring axis; said cross-sectional profile candefine a star geometry with said wire following a pentagram pattern.

Still further aspects of the present disclosure include a canted coilspring with complex coil shape for improving connector performancecomprising a continuous plurality of coils of wire, a spring axisthrough said coils, and a cross-sectional profile when viewed in thedirection of said spring axis; each coil canted about an axis generallyperpendicular to said spring axis; said cross-sectional profile candefine a multi-loop geometry with said wire following a repeatingpattern of distinct and partially overlapping loops to define saidmulti-loop geometry.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said multi-loop geometry can comprise at least onetear drop shaped loop.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said multi-loop geometry can comprise multiple teardrop shaped loops each comprising a tear drop tip, wherein each teardrop tip generally converges to the same point when viewing thecross-sectional profile.

The canted coil spring with complex coil shape for improving connectorperformance wherein said multi-loop geometry can comprise at least twooverlapping loops; each loop sharing a tangent with at least one otherloop when viewing the cross-sectional profile.

Yet an additional aspect of the present disclosure is a canted coilspring with complex coil shape for improving connector performancecomprising a continuous plurality of coils of wire, a spring axisthrough said coils, and a cross-sectional profile when viewed in thedirection of said spring axis; each coil canted about an axis generallyperpendicular to said spring axis; said cross-sectional profile can be anon-elliptical and non-rectangular shape and can comprise at least aninterior loop that is entirely within said cross-sectional profile.

A connector with improved performance can comprise a canted coil springof any shaped coils described herein.

Methods of making and of using the canted coil springs having complexcoil shapes described herein are within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

A connector with a housing having a multi-piece structure assembledtogether to form a housing groove with at least one piece forming thehousing being made by stamping and cold forming at least part of theshape of the housing groove; and wherein a canted coil spring of anyshaped coils described herein is located within the housing groove. Thecoils can have a dimple for forming two or more contact points or forengaging a convex projecting in a latching connector application.

A still further aspect of the present disclosure includes a connectorassembly comprising: connector housing comprising a first housingsection attached to a second housing section and having an interiorcavity with a housing groove; wherein the first housing sectioncomprises a first bottom wall with an end most surface and a firstsidewall coupled to the first bottom wall at an angle; wherein thesecond housing section comprises a second bottom wall with an end mostsurface and a second sidewall coupled to the second bottom wall at anangle; wherein the first bottom wall and the second bottom wall define agroove bottom of the housing groove and the first sidewall and thesecond sidewall define two sidewalls of the housing groove; wherein theendmost surfaces of the first housing section and second housingsections are welded together to form the connector housing having twoopening.

The connector assembly wherein the first housing section and the secondhousing section can be substantially identical.

The connector assembly wherein the two openings can align to receive apin.

The connector wherein the angle of the first housing section can be aright angle, an acute angle, or an obtuse angle.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the housing groove, wherein the canted coil spring can comprise aplurality of coils and wherein each of the plurality of coils comprisesa dimple.

The connector assembly wherein the coils with the dimples each cancomprise a straight segment.

The connector assembly wherein the angle of the first housing sectioncan be a right angle and the angle of the second housing section can bea right angle. The two angles can produce a groove bottom wall that isgenerally straight or flat.

The connector assembly can further comprise a canted coil spring locatedin the housing groove and wherein the canted coil spring can comprise aplurality of coils each with three or more straight segments anddefining an angle α and angle β between the three or more straightsegments.

The connector assembly wherein a base of each of the plurality of coilshas a straight segment for forming a line contact with a bottom surfaceof the housing groove. The connector assembly wherein angle α can beequal to angle β, angle α can be greater than angle β, or angle α can beless than angle β.

The connector assembly can further comprise a dimple on a segment ofeach of the plurality of coils for forming two contact points at each ofthe plurality of coils.

An additional aspect of the present disclosure is a method of assemblinga connector comprising: providing a connector housing comprising atleast two housing sections and wherein at least one of the two housingsections has a contoured formed by cold working a die; said housingcomprising a housing groove comprising a bottom wall located between twosidewalls; placing a canted coil spring inside the housing groove, saidcanted coil spring comprising a plurality of coils each with three ormore straight segments and defining an angle α and angle β between thethree or more straight segments; and wherein a base of each coil forms aline contact with the bottom wall of the housing groove.

The method wherein the connector housing can have two openings andwherein a pin can be inserted through a ring center of the canted coilspring and the two openings of the connector housing.

The method wherein the pin can comprise a convex protrusion and whereinthe plurality of coils each can comprise a dimple in contact with theconvex protrusion.

The method wherein angle α can be equal to angle β, angle a can begreater than angle β, or angle α can be less than angle β.

The method wherein the plurality of coils each can comprise a dimple andwherein each coil can have two contact points with the pin at thedimple.

The method wherein two of the three straight segments can be sidesegments and one of the three straight segments can be a bottom segmentjoining the two side segments, and wherein a curved upper segment canjoin the two side segments.

The method wherein the curved upper segment can include a dimple.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present devices, systems,and methods will become appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood with reference to the specification, claims and appendeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a connector assembly, the connectorassembly including a canted coil spring, a connector housing (or simplyhousing), and a pin engaging the connector housing, the connectorhousing including a stamped housing section joined to another stampedhousing section, the joined stamped housing sections including a bottomwall and a sidewall joined to the bottom wall.

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, except that the pin has a groove thereinfor receiving a part of the spring, such as in a latching where the pincan subsequent separate from the housing or a locking application wherethe pin cannot separate unless the spring is deformed from its initialstate.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a connector assembly, the connectorassembly including a canted coil spring, a connector housing, and a pinengaging with the connector housing, the connector housing including astamped housing section joined to a surface, the stamped housing sectionincluding a bottom wall and a sidewall joined to the bottom wall. Thesurface can be part of a housing body that can have a variety of shapes,including a flat plate with a bore or opening; a flange with a bore oropening, or a block with a bore or opening.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3, but shown with a lead connected through thesurface of the housing body to reach the stamped housing section.

FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment of a connector assembly, theconnector assembly including a pin, a canted coil spring, and aconnector housing, the connector housing including a stamped housingsection joined to another stamped housing section, the stamped housingsections including a bottom wall and a sidewall joined together at anangle.

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5, except that the pin has a groove thereinfor receiving a part of the spring.

FIG. 7 shows still yet another embodiment of a connector assembly, theconnector assembly including a pin, a canted coil spring, and aconnector housing, the connector housing including a stamped housingsection joined to a surface, the stamped housing section including abottom wall and a sidewall joined to the surface at an angle.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7, except that the pin has a groove thereinfor receiving a part of the spring.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 7 but shown without a pin and with a leadconnected through the surface to the housing section.

FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of a connector assembly, theconnector assembly including a connector housing and a canted coilspring mounted to an exterior of the connector housing and an externalhousing having a bore receiving the connector housing with the spring,the connector housing including a stamped housing section joined toanother stamped housing section, the stamped housing section including abottom wall and a sidewall joined to one another.

FIG. 11 is similar to FIG. 10, except that the bore of the externalhousing has a groove therein for receiving a part of the canted coilspring.

FIG. 12 shows another alternative embodiment of a connector assembly,the connector assembly including a connector housing and a canted coilspring mounted to an exterior of the connector housing for use with anexternal housing having a bore receiving the connector housing andspring, the connector housing including a stamped housing section joinedto a surface, the stamped housing section including a bottom wall and asidewall.

FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 12, but shown with a lead connected throughthe surface to the housing section.

FIG. 14 shows yet another alternative embodiment of a connectorassembly, the connector assembly including a connector housing and acanted coil spring mounted to an exterior of the connector housing andan external housing having a bore receiving the connector housing andspring, the connector housing including a stamped housing section joinedto another stamped housing section, the stamped housing sectionincluding a bottom wall and a sidewall joined to one another.

FIG. 15 is similar to FIG. 14, except that the external housing bore hasa groove therein for receiving a part of the spring.

FIG. 16 shows still yet another alternative embodiment of a connectorassembly, the connector assembly including a connector housing and acanted coil spring mounted to an exterior of the connector housing andan external housing having a bore receiving the connector housing andspring, the connector housing including a stamped housing section joinedto a surface, the stamped housing section including a bottom wall and asidewall joined.

FIG. 17 is similar to FIG. 16, except that the external housing bore hasa groove therein for receiving a part of the spring.

FIG. 18 is similar to FIG. 16, but shown with a lead connected throughthe surface to the housing section.

FIGS. 19A and 19B show cross-sectional views of two differently arrangedor orientation of a canted coil spring with a coil shape defined by twogenerally parallel straight segments with an elliptical segment at eachend that joins the two generally parallel straight segments togetherinstalled in a rectangular groove.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C show cross-sectional views of three canted coilsprings of different coil geometries, such as different polygonalgeometries, adapted to the geometry of the groove they are installed in.

FIGS. 21A and 21B show cross-sectional views of two types of canted coilspring geometries where angle α can determine insertion force and angleβ can determine removal force when used in a mechanical connector.

FIG. 22 shows a cross-sectional view of a canted coil spring in aconnector assembly with pentagonal geometry where angle α is about thesame as angle β, said spring installed in a correspondingly sizedrectangular housing and approached by a pin with latching groove.

FIGS. 23A and 23B show cross-sectional views of two canted coil springswith pentagonal geometries where angle α is not equal to angle β.

FIG. 23C and 23D show cross-sectional views of two canted coil springswith right trapezoidal geometries where angle α is not equal to angle β.

FIGS. 23E and 23F show cross-sectional views of two canted coil springswith pentagonal geometries where the coil height and the wire thicknessused to form the coils are increased, respectively.

FIG. 24 shows a cross-sectional view of three canted coil springs, saidcross-sectional view showing the coils each being a non-elliptical andnon-rectangular shape and comprising one interior loop that is entirelywithin said coil contour and positioned in a housing with threecorrespondingly sized rectangular grooves and a piston with threecorresponding convex protrusions contacting dimples formed by theinterior loops.

FIG. 25 shows a cross-sectional view of a canted coil spring, saidcross-sectional view showing a coil being a non-elliptical andnon-rectangular shape and comprising at least an interior loop that isentirely within said coil contour and positioned in a housing with acorrespondingly sized rectangular groove and a piston with acorresponding convex protrusion contacting the dimple formed by theinterior loop.

FIG. 26A shows a variation of the canted coil spring shown in FIG. 25 ina cross-sectional view showing a coil of the canted coil spring being anon-elliptical and nonrectangular shape and comprising at least aninterior loop that is entirely within said coil contour.

FIGS. 26B, 26C, and 26D show cross-sectional views of three canted coilsprings each having a coil being non-elliptical and non-rectangularshape and comprising at least an interior loop that is entirely withinsaid coil contour.

FIG. 27 shows the spring of FIG. 26A positioned in a housing groove incontact with a shaft or pin.

FIG. 28 shows a cross-sectional view of canted coil spring having coilswith a star-shaped geometry with wire of the canted coil springfollowing a pentagram pattern.

FIGS. 29A and 29B show cross-sectional views canted coil springs withcoils having multi-loop geometry wherein said multi-loop geometrycomprises multiple tear drop shaped loops, each comprising a tear droptip, wherein each tear drop tip generally converges to the same pointwhen viewing the cross-sectional profile.

FIG. 30 shows a cross-sectional view of a canted coil spring having aplurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pin andwherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 31 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 32 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 33 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 34 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 35 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 36 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 37 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 38 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 39 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 40 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 41 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 42 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 43 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 44 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 45 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 46 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 47 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 48 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 49 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 50 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 51 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 52 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank.

FIG. 53 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with anexterior housing having a bore and wherein the housing is multi-pieceand wherein at least one piece is formed by stamping and having acurvature or bend formed by cold working a blank.

FIG. 54 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with anexterior housing having a bore and wherein the housing is multi-pieceand wherein at least one piece is formed by stamping and having acurvature or bend formed by cold working a blank.

FIG. 55 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 56 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 57 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 58 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 59 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 60 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 61 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 62 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 63 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 64 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 65 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 66 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 67 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 68 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

FIG. 69 shows a cross-sectional view of another canted coil springhaving a plurality of coils located in a housing and usable with a pinand wherein the housing is multi-piece and wherein at least one piece isformed by stamping and having a curvature or bend formed by cold workinga blank and the coil having a dimple.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of the presently preferredembodiments of stamped housing sections and canted coil springs for usein various connector applications provided in accordance with aspects ofthe present devices, systems, and methods and is not intended torepresent the only forms in which the present devices, systems, andmethods may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth thefeatures and the steps for constructing and using the embodiments of thepresent devices, systems, and methods in connection with the illustratedembodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same orequivalent functions and structures may be accomplished by differentembodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. As denoted elsewhere herein, likeelement numbers are intended to indicate like or similar elements orfeatures.

FIGS. 1-9 are cross-sectional views of multiple embodiments of a firstconnector assembly 10, the connector assembly 10 including a connectorhousing 130 having a bore 106 with an inner groove 140 located thereinand a spring 148 received in the inner groove 140. The connectorassembly 10 is configured, such as sized and shaped, to receive orengage a lead or pin 40, such as by gripping the pin with the spring148. Pins disclosed herein are solid unless indicated otherwise and havea solid end wall at the insertion end of the pin for inserting into abore of a housing. FIGS. 10-18 are cross-sectional views of multipleembodiments of a second connector assembly 20, the second connectorassembly 20 including a connector housing 230 having an outer groove 240and a spring 148 received in the outer groove 240. The connectorassembly 20 is configured, such as sized and shaped, to project into abore 80 of an external housing 85. The canted coil springs disclosedherein have a number of interconnected coils all canted in the samedirection of a coil centerline. Each canted coil spring has two endsconnected to form an annular or garter shaped spring structure,especially where shown or discussed in connection with a connectorhaving a pin or piston. However, the canted springs may be practiced asa spring length wherein two ends of each spring length are notconnected. As is well known in the art, canted coil springs can becoiled so that the coils deflect along a radial direction relative tothe coil centerline. A standard helical spring can only compress orexpand along a comparable coil centerline but the coils cannot cant ordeflect radially of the centerline.

For the connector assemblies (10, 20) and connector assembly componentsdisclosed herein, it is understood that where a feature is shown but notexpressly described and is otherwise the same or similar to the featureor features described elsewhere, such as above with reference to FIGS.1-18, the disclosed part or parts shown in all the drawing figures butnot expressly described because of redundancy and because knowledge isbuilt on a foundation laid by earlier disclosures may nonetheless beunderstood to be described or taught by the same or similar featuresexpressly set forth in the text for the embodiments in which the featureor features are described. Said differently, subsequent disclosures ofthe present application are built upon the foundation of earlierdisclosures unless the context indicates otherwise. The disclosure istherefore understood to teach a person of ordinary skill in the art thedisclosed embodiments and the features of the disclosed embodimentswithout having to repeat similar components and features in allembodiments since a skilled artisan would not disregard similarstructural features having just read about them in several precedingparagraphs nor ignore knowledge gained from earlier descriptions setforth in the same specification. As such, the same or similar featuresshown in the following connector assemblies incorporate the teachings ofearlier embodiments unless the context indicates otherwise. Therefore,it is contemplated that later disclosed embodiments enjoy the benefit ofearlier expressly described embodiments, such as features and structuresof earlier described embodiments, unless the context indicatesotherwise.

With reference to FIGS. 1-2 and 5-6, one embodiment of a connectorhousing 130 includes a housing section 100 coupled to another housingsection 100. The two housing sections 100 can be substantially identicalto one another or can be different. With reference to FIGS. 3-4 and 7-9,another embodiment of a connector housing 130 includes a housing section100 coupled to a surface 60 of a body 65, which can be a plate, aflange, or a shoulder of a base or a frame. The surface 60, which can bereferred to as a contact surface 60, of the body may be viewed as asecond housing section attached to the first housing section 100, whichhas a stamped curvature or a stamped groove structure.

The housing section 100 of FIGS. 1-9 each has an outer perimeter 104 anda bore 106. Each housing section 100 can be configured to cooperate witha surface 60 or another housing section 100 to form a connector housing130 having a housing groove 140 for receiving a spring 148, which can bea radial canted coil spring or an axial canted coil spring with aplurality of interconnected coils all canted in a same generaldirection. The canted coil spring used with the housing groove 140 ofthe connector housing 130 can have conventional elliptical or ovalshaped coils or complex coil shapes, such as shown with reference toFIGS. 19A-B, 20A-C, 21A-B, 22, 23A-23F, 24, 26A-26D, 28, 29A-B, and30-69. In one example, the bore 106 of a housing section 100 isgenerally round for receiving a round pin 40 or a shaft, rod, or piston.In other examples, the bore 106 can embody other shapes, such as squareor oval for receiving a similarly shaped pin. The outer perimeter 104can also have the same or different shape as the shape of the bore 106.For example, the bore 106 can be round while the outer perimeter 104 canbe square, oval, or rectangular. In the illustrated embodiment, theouter perimeter 104 and the bore 106 both have a round shape.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-9, the housing section 100 can bemade using a coining process, which is a cold working process similar toforging, except the latter usually takes place at elevated temperatures.A die or multiple dies may be used in a coining process to first cut ablank and then shaping the blank into a refined shape, which canoptionally further be machined or laser treated to further modify thefinal shapes and tolerances. The die or dies used to shape the blank mayhave different shapes and contours for forming a different shapedhousing section 100. Generally speaking, the shaped housing section 100can be described as a negative image of the die or dies. A great deal offorce is used to plastically deform a blank or work piece. In oneexample, a hydraulic actuated press is used to supply the workingpressure. In other examples, a gear driven press or a mechanical pressmay be used to supply the working pressure. Coining is similar tostamping with the difference primarily being the working force orpressure. Unless the context indicates otherwise, coining and stampingfor purposes of the present disclosure are used synonymously.

Blank materials usable as the starting point for forming the disclosedhousing sections 100 can be made from any number of conductive metals,Examples of metals that are capable of conducting current include steel,stainless steel, copper, and gold. Additionally, stainless steel type316L, MP35N, platinum-iridium, titanium, and others can be used.Multi-metallic metal may also be used by coating a base metal layer witha relatively higher conductive material or layer. For example, the basematerial may be copper, which is relatively soft metal, and the stampedcopper base layer is subsequently overlaid with a harder material, suchas stainless steel.

Alternatively, the material can be a conventional medically implantablegrade material with noble metal coatings, such as platinum overstainless steel. By coating a non-noble metal element with a noblemetal, the more desirable conductive and corrosion resistant propertiesof the noble metal are married with the significantly lower cost ofnon-noble metals such as high-strength nickel alloys and stainlesssteel. Thus, the stamped housing section 100 can be made from a singlemetal material or a multi-layer metal material with the latter having abase metal layer and one or more cladding or plating over-layers. Forcertain connector applications, plastic injection molding can also beemployed to form the stamped housing and then providing a path throughthe plastic housing to terminate an electrical lead to the canted coilspring. For pure mechanical applications without current or signalcarrying capability, two injection molded housing sections can be joinedwith a canted cod spring located in between to form a connector housing100.

As shown, the housing section 100 comprises a bottom wall 110 and asidewall 114 coupled to the bottom wall 110. In the present embodiments,the sidewall 114 of each housing section 100 extends inwardly towardsthe bore 106. A free end of the bottom wall 110 is configured to mate toanother surface, such as to another free end of a joining housingsection 100, and functions as a joining surface 112. The free end can bea terminal end of the bottom wall 110 and not a flange or some extensionextending from the bottom wall and mate to a corresponding extension.The two free ends preferably of the two housing sections dos not includemechanical inter-engagement. The two joining surfaces 112 of two housingsections, which can be endmost surfaces of the bottom walls 110, aresecured together, such as by laser welding or spot welding, to form ahousing or connector groove 140. In some examples, the endmost surfaces112 of two joining housing sections 100 face one another or angled fromone another. When facing one another, the angle between them is zero andis also known as butt-joint. When angled from one another, the anglebetween the two surfaces can be less than 180 degrees.

The bottom wall 110 and the sidewall 114 can be flat, have a curvedsurface, can be angled relative to one another, or are irregularlyshaped surfaces. In one example, the bottom wall 110 and the sidewall114 have a generally flat or planar section. The bottom wall 110 formsan angle with the sidewall 114. In some embodiments, the angle is about90 degrees (FIGS. 1-4). In other embodiments, the angle is an obtuseangle (FIGS. 5-9). In still other embodiments, the angle between thesidewall 114 and the bottom wall 110 of at least one of two housingsections is acute. The bottom wall 110 and the sidewall 114cooperatively define a recessed space 120. Two recessed spaces 120 fromtwo housing sections 100 can be called recessed spaces. The recessedspace 120 is configured to accommodate a spring 148, as furtherdiscussed below. Each housing section 100 can contact another housingsection 100 when stacking a plurality of housing sections 100 in a stack(not shown) with all housing sections 100 facing the same direction,such as for packaging, storing, and/or shipping.

Two housing sections 100 can be brought together and joined to form aconnector housing 130. The recessed spaces 120 cooperatively form aninternal housing groove 140, which may sometimes be referred to as agroove, a spring groove, a connector groove or a channel foraccommodating a canted coil spring. In other embodiments, a singlehousing section 100 is configured to contact a surface 60 of a supportbody 65 instead of another stamped housing section. The free end of thesingle section 100 can attach, such as weld to, the surface withoutincorporating an extension or a flange that extends from the bottomsurface. The body 65 with the surface 60 is considered as a housingsection but can be made from other than coining or stamping. Forexample, the support body 65 may be stamped to create a cutout from astock material. Alternatively, the support body 65 may be machined,cast, or forged from a stock material. In any event, the support body 65is a housing section in that it is joined to another housing section toform a connector housing 130 having a spring groove 140. The connectorhousing 130 can be conductive when selecting appropriate conductivemetallic material or a combination of materials for the housing sections100 and can be referred to as a conductive contact element, such as whenused in combination with an in-line header connector, as furtherdiscussed below, or as an electrical connector when used with a pin orrod to transmit electrical signals or power between two electronicsources or components, such as between a circuit board and a powersupply.

In one example, a blank for forming a housing section, such as thehousing sections 100 disclosed in the various embodiments, has agenerally constant thickness, which can be sized or selected dependingon the material hardness and the type of connector application to beused, such as for heavy duty high insertion and/or removal forceapplications, for a mechanical connector, for an electrical connector,etc. In other examples, the thickness can vary along the blank to allowfor bending and shaping the contour of the housing section 100. Byforming the housing section 100 using a stamping process rather thanmachining the housing from a metal block, consistent housing dimensionsand thinner sections can be obtained, which can reduce the overalllength or size of a completed product, such as the overall size of anin-line connector stack, and reduce manufacturing costs. A stampedhousing section can also be formed relatively quicker than forming thesame housing by machining. The joining surface 112 can be machined afterstamping to improve attachment, such as to facilitate welding.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 6, the connector housing 130 can beformed by joining two housing sections 100 together. The two housingsections 100 can be joined by first placing them in opposing contact sothat the outer perimeters 104 lined up, such that the joining surfaces112 abut against each other or are in adjacent contact. The two housingsections 100 can then be simply welded together, such as with spotwelds, laser welds, or continuous welds, to form the connector housing130. An outer encapsulation sleeve or layer can also be used to captureand hold the two housing sections 100 together instead of or in additionto welding. The encapsulation sleeve is disclosed in U.S. PublicationNo. 2014/0079476, the contents of which are expressly incorporatedherein by reference to teach use of encapsulation sleeves together withconnector housings and canted coil springs disclosed herein. Theconnector housing 130 can also be used as is and be connected to a wireor cable, which can be connected to an electrical source or component.The connector housing 130 can also be used as is with a pin or a shaftto function as a mechanical connector, which can be a holding connector,a latching connector, or a locking connector in which the pin cannotmove in the opposite direction to disconnect from the connector housing130 without destroying the connector, such as destroying the spring.

As shown, the connector housing 130 can be created by two separatelyformed housing sections 100 that are attached together. As shown, ahousing groove 140 can be formed by the two joined housing sections 100.Said differently, the housing groove 140 can be cooperatively defined byjoining two stamped housing sections 100 together. In an example, twoend surfaces of two bottom walls 110 are placed side-by-side and thenwelded to from a connector housing 130. In some embodiments, the twoconnected housing sections 100 are substantially the same. That is, thehousing groove 140 is formed by joining two identical housing sections100 together. In other embodiments, the two connected housing sections100 are different. That is, two non-symmetrical housing sections canjoin to form a housing groove 140 that is non-symmetrical about thejoined interface. The housing groove, spring groove, or channel 140 canbe generally U-shaped (see FIGS. 1-4) in which the angle of the bottomwall 110 with respect to each of the two sidewalls 114 is substantiallyperpendicular. In other embodiments, by modifying the angle of thebottom wall 110 with respect to the sidewall 114 of one or both housingsections 100, the shape of the groove 140 can be altered. For example,the bottom wall 110 can form an obtuse angle with respect to thesidewall 114 to form a V shape (see FIGS. 5-9) when two housing sectionsare joined. The connector housing 130 can also embody a V-shaped groovewithout any sidewall 114. In yet other examples, the V-groove can have aflat bottom surface therebetween, i.e., a subtended bottom surfacelocated between two tapered surfaces, which may or may not includesidewalls. Thus, the connector housing 130 can be viewed as having acommon bore 106 and a housing groove 140 formed by coining all or partof at least one of the housing sections and then joining them togethervia welding. The housing sections 100 can be joined by aligning two endsof two bottom walls 110 adjacent one another and then welding the seamor parting line therebetween.

Again, the housing groove 140 is shown with a groove surface formed bythe two bottom walls 110 and the two sidewalls 114 of the two housingsections. In some examples, the groove is V-shaped with two slantedsurfaces joined together and without any sidewall. In the embodimentsshown, such as FIGS. 1 and 2, the groove 140 has a parting line or seamgenerally at the middle of the housing groove 140. In yet otherexamples, if the housing sections 100 are not symmetrical, the partingline of the housing groove 140 can be offset from center, such as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown, the two housing sections 100 are symmetricalabout the interface 136. In other words, the two housing sections 100can be understood to be formed from stamping and be symmetrical aboutthe interface 136, which can also be called a seam or a parting line.Said differently, a connector housing 130 can be provided by joining twosymmetrical stamped housing sections 100 about an interface 136 to formthe housing groove 140. More particularly, the two housing sections ofthe various embodiments are joined at the joining surfaces 112, whichare endmost surfaces of the respective bottom walls 110. The length ofthe bottom wall 110 can be adjusted to determine the width of thehousing groove 160 or be dependent on the type and/or size of the spring148 to be accommodated in the groove. Similarly, the length of thesidewall 114 of the housing section 100 and angle between the sidewall114 and the bottom wall 110 can be adjusted to determine the depth ofthe housing groove 140. The groove of the various embodiments is sizedso that when used with a canted coil spring and the spring receives apin or shaft, with or without a pin groove, the spring touches thebottom of the connector housing groove. In other examples, the pin has agroove and when inserted through the spring, the spring is spaced fromthe bottom of the housing groove. The spring can contact the twosidewalls of the groove, contact only one of the two sidewalls, or bespaced from the two sidewalls of the groove. The spring can alsosimultaneously contact two tapered surfaces of the housing groove whenthe pin is inserted into the housing bore. As previously alluded to, theterm stamped housing section 100 does not preclude some machining, suchas to fine tune certain geometries of the housing sections 100 to finetune the completed connector housing 130. The connector housing 130 canalso be machined to certain dimensions.

With reference now to FIGS. 3, 4, and 7-9, a single housing section 100can be coupled to, mate, or abut against a surface 60 of a body 65 toform a connector housing 130. The surface 60 can be flat, arcuate, orirregular. In the illustrated embodiment, the surface 60 is flat. Thebody 65 can embody any number of structures, such as a flange, a washer,a frame, or a plate. The body 65 may be referred to as a housing bodyfor joining to a housing section 100, the latter being a stampedcomponent. The housing section 100 and the housing body 65 togetherdefine a housing groove. In the example shown, the housing body 65defines at least part of a housing groove 140. The stamped housingsection 100 also defines at least part of the housing groove 140.

The outer perimeter 104 of the housing section 100 can be situated closeto the outer perimeter 64 of the housing body 65, such as radiallyaligned along respective outer perimeters, or recessed from the outerperimeter 64 of the housing body 65. The inner perimeter 66 of the body65 can be substantially similar to the size or diameter of the bore 106of the housing section 100. The connector housing 130 there has two endopenings and a bore 106 therebetween and wherein the two end openingshave generally the same diameter or dimension. The housing groove 140 iscooperatively defined, at least in part, by the sidewall 114 of thehousing section 100, the bottom wall 110, and the surface 60 of the body65. The width of the bottom wall 110 can be adjusted to determine thewidth of the housing groove 140, which can depend on the type and/orsize of the spring 148 to be accommodated. Similarly, the length of thesidewall 114 of the housing section 100 can be adjusted to determine thedepth of the housing groove 140. The bottom wall 110 of the housingsection 100 can be perpendicular or form an angle with the surface 60 ofthe body 65. The sidewall 114 of the housing section 100 can be parallelor form an angle with the surface 60 of the body 65. In the embodimentof FIGS. 3, 4, and 7-9, the bottom wall 110 of the connector housing 130can be formed entirely from or by the stamped housing 100.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 9, the body 65 can have an opening,channel, path, or a bore 55 through the surface 60 to allow a conductivelead 70 to pass through the body 65 to electrically connect to thehousing section 100, the canted coil spring 148 or both. The conductivelead 70 can be electrically secured to the housing section 100, such asby welding an end of the conductive lead 70 to a surface of the housingsection 100. The conductive lead 70 can alternatively be pressed fitthrough the bore 55. The housing body 65 is also made from anelectrically conductive material.

As shown, a canted coil spring 148 is located in the housing groove 140of the connector housing 130, i.e., the canted coil spring 148 ishousing mounted. The canted coil spring 148 can be an axial canted coilspring or a radial canted coil spring and the spring 148 can comprise aplurality of coils 36 all canted in the same general direction with eachcoil 36 comprising a major axis and a minor axis, such as beingelliptical in shape with a major axis and a minor axis, which is shorterthan the major axis. This canted feature is contrasted with normalexpansion or compression springs, which are coiled with coils havingopposing tapers so that the individual coils cannot compress in theradial direction due to the opposing structures. In other examples, thespring can be a garter spring, a cantilever spring, or a ribbon spring.Exemplary canted coil springs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,462;4,826,144; and 4,876,781, the contents of which are expresslyincorporated herein by reference. The canted coil springs 148 can havecoils of other different shapes, other than elliptical, as shown inFIGS. 19A-B, 20A-C, 21A-B, 22, 23A-23F, 24, 26A-26D, 28, 29A-B, and30-69.

The canted coil springs 148 disclosed herein can be made from aconductive metal and can be plated or cladded with one or more outerlayers over a base metallic layer. As used herein, conductive metal isunderstood to mean any metal capable of conducting current, such assteel, stainless steel, copper, and gold. In certain embodiments, apreferred conductive metal, such as copper, copper alloy, or a preferredcombination, such as copper with silver or other noble metal cladding,can be used. For high temperature applications, a soft base metal can beused with a high tensile strength outer layer, such as a copper corewith a stainless steel outer layer. In another example, the combinationcan be practiced in the reverse, i.e., with the high tensile strengthmaterial as the base core material and the high conductive propertymaterial, such as copper, as the cladding outer layer. In still yetother examples, the high tensile strength property material can includeheat treated carbon steel, INCONEL® alloys, and HASTELLOY® alloys.INCONEL alloys are understood to include a family ofnickel-chromium-based super alloys. HASTELLOY are understood to includea family of nickel based super alloys that include varying percentagesof elements such as molybdenum, chromium, cobalt, iron, manganese, etc.In an example, the second conductive clad layer having high conductivitycan include copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, gold, goldalloy, silver, silver alloy, brass, or brass alloy. The combination witha high tensile strength base material and a conductive cladding materialis configured to offer high conductivity as well as retain high tensileand high modulus properties at elevated temperatures, The highconductivity layer is preferably positioned on the side of the springthat contacts or faces a pin 40. However, in another embodiment, thehigh tensile strength material can contact or face the pin 40,

With reference again to the FIGS. 1-9, the inner diameter 150 of thespring 148 is smaller than the diameter of the bore 106 so that thespring projects outwardly of the groove and towards the centerline orlengthwise axis of the pin. The inner diameter 150 of the canted coilspring 148 is also smaller than the nominal diameter of the pin 40.Thus, when the pin 40 is inserted in through the bore 106 the pin 40 andthe center of the canted coil spring 148, the pin makes contact with thespring 148 and the spring 148 is biased against the housing groove 140and the pin 40 to form a mechanical connector and optionally withcurrent or electric carrying capability, if connected to electricalsources. The pin 40 can have an exterior groove 44 (shown in FIGS. 2, 6,and 8), such as for a latching or a locking application, or can bewithout a groove (shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 7), such as for a holdingapplication. The housing groove 140 can have a width that is narrowerthan the coil major axis so that the major axes of the coils, which arelonger than the width, are rotated and contacting and being constrainedby the groove sidewalls, when the spring 148 is positioned in thehousing groove 140. The width of the housing groove 140 can also bewider than the coil major axis and/or the coil minor axis so that thecoils do not touch the sidewalls of the housing groove 140 when placedtherein. Still alternatively, the groove depth can be such that thespring does not touch the bottom surface of the housing groove 140 whenthe pin 40 is not present and wherein when the pin 40 is inserted, thepin 40 pushes on the spring so that the outer diameter 155 of the coilscontact the bottom surface of the housing groove 140. This featureallows for low insertion force when inserting the pin into the springcenter and into the bore of the housing 130

The connector housing 130 and pin 40 combination, using the presentdisclosed stamped housing sections 100, is capable of being used innumerous applications and industries as mechanical connectors andoptionally with electrical carrying capabilities, i.e., as electricalconnectors. For example, the connector housing 130 with at least onestamped housing section 100 and pin 40 combination can be used inaerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, and oil and gasapplications to secure a first object to a second object or to conductelectricity, such as current or signals, between two different sourcesor nodes.

During assembly, the spring 148 can be placed in the recessed space 120of a first housing section 100 and then a second housing section 100 isattached to the first housing section 100. Alternatively, the spring 148can be placed in the recessed space 120 of the first housing section 100and then together mounted to the surface 60 of a housing body 65. Thisallows the spring 148 to be installed within the connector housing 130with minimal deflection and stress to the spring 148, which in turnreduces the possibility of mis-orientation of the spring contact withinthe housing groove 140. The installation of the spring 148 when thehousing section 100 is already joined to the other housing section 100would require deflecting the spring 148 a significant amount to fit thespring 148 through the housing bore diameter, and then once through thebore diameter the spring 148 can expand into the housing groove 140.However, this process can lead to the spring 148 being tilted ormis-oriented within the groove upon expanding, thus possibly resultingin a high force insertion or removal of the pin 40 in through the bore106 of the one-piece connector housing 130, such as by having the pin 40contacting the spring 148 closer to the major axis of the spring coils.However, it is contemplated that the presently disclosed connectorhousing can be used with a canted coil spring after two housing sectionsare joined. The groove 140 is sized and shaped to accommodate a cantedcoil spring 148, which is shown as a radial canted coil spring with anaxial canted coil spring contemplated, such as shown in FIG. 9. Whileonly two coils 36 of the canted coil spring 148 are shown, the cantedcoil spring 148 is understood to include a plurality of interconnectedcoils all canted in the same direction. Furthermore, it is understoodthat the spring will only deflect in the canting direction along one ofthe two axes but not both. In some examples, coils can deflect along twodifferent axes, as disclosed in co-pending U.S. Publication No.2015/0240900, filed Feb. 24, 2015, the contents of which are expresslyincorporated herein by reference. The canted coil springs disclosed inthe co-pending publication No. 2015/0240900 can deflect along twodifferent axes. These springs are usable with the connector housings ofthe present application, which has at least one housing section that hasbeen stamped.

As discussed elsewhere herein, the pin 40 may have an external groove tolatch or lock the pin 40 o the housing 130, such as by capturing thespring 148 in between the housing groove and the pin groove, or withoutan external groove to hold the pin 40 to the housing, such as by usingspring bias force to push against the flat exterior surface of the pin40 to hold the pin 40 using friction and biasing forces. The pin 40preferably includes a tapered pin insertion end 46 to facilitateinserting the pin into the bore of the connector housing and through theinside diameter of the spring. Exemplary use of holding, latching, andlocking connectors but without the unique housing connectors and groovesutilizing stamped connector parts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,678,210; 5,082,390; 5,411,348; and 8,297,662, the contents of whichare expressly incorporated herein by reference. Any of the various pinsdisclosed in these patents may be used with the connector housings ofthe present disclosure, which has at least one housing section having astamped surface. The pin 40 is shown with a tapered insertion end 46 andoptionally with a groove 44. The pin 40 can vary in length and is solidthroughout with a hollow core contemplated. The insertion end has aplanar end surface but can include an opening of a hollow core isincorporated with the pin 40. In the particular embodiment shown, thegroove 44 has a bottom wall 42 and two sidewalls 48 a, 48 b, which canbe substantially parallel to each other. In other examples, the wallsurfaces 48 a, 48 b of the pin groove 44 can be tapered and converge tothe bottom wall 42 or to a point (i.e., no bottom wall, V-shaped). Instill other examples, the bottom wall 42 can have a single taperrelative to the other sidewall 48 a, 48 b. In yet other examples, onesidewall 48 a, can be vertical while the other sidewall 48 b is slantedor tapered or vice versa. The pin 40 can connect to the housing 130 andbe connectable to other components. For example, the pin 40 can beconnected to a first object and the connector housing 130 to a secondobject for securing the first object to the second object via theconnector assembly. For an electrical application, current or signalscan pass between the first object and the second object.

With reference now to FIGS. 10-11 and 14-15, multiple embodiments of aconnector housing 230 of a second connector assembly 20 includes ahousing section 200 coupled to another housing section 200. The twohousing sections 200 can be substantially identical or be different.FIGS. 12-13 and 16-18 show another embodiment of a connector housing 230that includes a first housing section 200 coupled to a surface 60 of ahousing body 65. The connector housings have externally mounted springs,externally relative to a centerline.

With reference to FIGS. 10-18, cross sectional views of multipleembodiments of a connector housing 230 comprising of a housing section200 are shown having an outer perimeter 204 and a bore 206. Each housingsection 200 can be configured to cooperate with a surface 60 or anotherhousing section 200 to form a connector housing 230 having a housinggroove 240 for receiving a spring 148. In one example, the outerperimeter 204 of the housing section 200 is generally round for fittinginto a bore 80 of an external housing 85, which can be a sleeve, a tube,or a cylinder for receiving the connector housing 230. In otherexamples, the outer perimeter 204 can embody other shapes, such assquare or oval for projecting into a similarly shaped housing bore 80 ofthe external housing 85. The outer perimeter 204 can also have the sameor different shape as the shape of the bore 206 of the connector housing230. For example, the bore 206 can be round while the outer perimeter204 can be square. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer perimeter204 and the bore 206 both have a round shape.

With reference to FIGS. 10-18, the housing section 200 can be made usinga coining or stamping process, as discussed above.

As shown, the housing sections 200 each comprises a bottom wall 210 anda sidewall 214 coupled, joined, or extended from the bottom wall 210.The sidewalls 214 of the housing sections 200 extend outwardly, awayfrom the central bore 206, to form external grooves 240. A free end ofeach bottom wall 210 acts as a joining surface 212 for joining toanother joining surface or a planar or mating surface of an adjacenthousing section 200. The joining surface 212 can embody as an end-mostsurface of the bottom wall 210 of each housing section 200. The joiningsurface does not have to incorporate any other surface extending fromthe bottom wall, such as a flange. The bottom wall 210 and the sidewall214 can be flat or have a curved surface or irregularly shaped. In oneexample, the bottom wall 210 and the sidewall 214 have a generally flator planar section. The bottom wall 210 forms an angle with the sidewall214. In some embodiments, the angle is about 90 degrees (FIGS. 10-13).In other embodiments, the angle is an obtuse angle (FIGS. 14-18). In yetother examples, the angle between the sidewall 214 and the bottom wall210 of at least one of two housing sections is acute. The bottom wall210 and the sidewall 214 cooperatively define a recessed space 220. Tworecessed spaces 220 define a groove and configured to accommodate aspring 148, as further discussed below. The housing section 200 cancontact another housing section 200 when stacking a plurality of housingsections 200 in a stack (not shown) with all housing sections 200 facingthe same direction, such as for packaging or shipping.

Two housing sections 200 can be brought together to form a connectorhousing 230. For example, tack welds or a continuous weld may be made toa parting line or seam between two housing sections to form a connectorhousing. The recessed spaces 220 of the two housing sections 200cooperate to form an external housing groove 240 for accommodating acanted coil spring 148 in an external groove of the connector housing230. In other embodiments, a single housing section 200 is configured tocontact a surface 60 instead of another housing section 200 and the twoform an external groove. The connector housing 230 can be conductivewhen selecting an appropriate conductive metallic material or acombination of materials for the housing sections 200, and can bereferred to as a conductive contact element, such as when used incombination with an in-line header connector, as further discussedbelow, or as an electrical connector for electrically coupling twoelectrical components.

In one example, a blank for forming the housing section 200 has agenerally constant thickness, which can be sized or selected dependingon the material hardness and the type of connector application to beused, such as for heavy duty high insertion and/or removal forceapplications, for a mechanical connector, for an electrical connector,etc. In other examples, the thickness of the blank can vary to allow forbending and shaping the contour of the housing section 200. By formingthe housing section 200 using a stamping process rather than machiningthe housing from a metal block, consistent housing dimensions andthinner sections can be obtained, which can reduce the overall length orsize of a completed product, such as the overall size of an in-lineconnector stack, and reduce manufacturing costs. The joining surface 212can be machined after stamping to improve attachment.

With reference to FIGS. 10, 11, 14, and 15, the connector housing 230can be formed by joining two housing sections 200 together. The twohousing sections 200 can be joined by first placing them in opposingcontact or next to one another with the outer perimeters 204 lined up,such that the joining surfaces 212 abut against each other or near oneanother. The two housing sections 200 can then be welded together, suchas with spot welds, laser welds, or continuous welds, to form theconnector housing 230. An outer encapsulation sleeve or layer can alsobe used to capture and hold the two housing sections 200 togetherinstead of or in addition to welding. The connector housing 230 can alsobe used as is as a connector when placed inside the bore 80 of anexternal housing 85.

As shown, the connector housing 230 can be created by two separatelyformed housing sections 200 that are attached together, such as alongtheir respective joining surfaces. At least one of the two housingsections 200 is made form or has a stamped section that has been formedor rolled with a die. As shown, a housing groove 240, such as anexternal housing groove, is formed by the two joined housing sections200. Said differently, the housing groove 240 can be cooperativelydefined by joining two stamped housing sections 200 together. Theexternal groove 240 can be formed by extending a sidewall from a bottomwall in a radially outward direction, away from a centerline line orbore, and joining two bottom walls of two housing sections together. Insome embodiments, the two connected housing sections 200 aresubstantially the same. That is, the housing groove 240 can be formed byjoining two identical housing sections 200 together. In otherembodiments, the two connected housing sections 200 are different orhaving different shapes. That is, a non-symmetrical housing groove 240can be formed from two different shaped housing sections 200 joinedtogether to form the housing groove 240. The housing groove 240 can begenerally U-shaped (as shown in FIGS. 10-13). In other embodiments, bymodifying the angle of the bottom wall 210 with respect to the sidewall214, the shape of the groove 240 can be altered. For example, the depthwall 210 can form an obtuse angle with respect to the sidewall 214 toform a V shape (as shown in FIGS. 14-18). In still yet other examples,two housing sections 200 for forming the connector housing 230 may notbe identical and can have two different shaped housing sections 200 toform a non-symmetrical housing groove relative to the interface definedby the intersection of the two joining surfaces 212. Thus, the connectorhousing 230 can be viewed as having a common bore 206 and a housinggroove 240 formed without any machining. In another example, only one ofthe two housing sections is made from a stamped housing section andcoined with a housing bottom and a sidewall while the other section canbe machined.

As shown, the housing groove 240 has a bottom surface formed by twobottom walls 210 and two sidewalls 214. In the embodiment shown, thebottom surface has a parting line or seam 236 generally at the middle ofthe housing groove 240. In yet other examples, if the housing sections200 are not symmetrical, the parting line 236 of the housing groove 240can be offset from center. As shown, the two housing sections 200 aresymmetrical about the interface 236. In other words, the two housingsections 200 can be understood to be formed from stamping and besymmetrical about the interface 236. Said differently, a connectorhousing 230 can be provided by joining two symmetrical stamped housingsections 200 about an interface 236 to form the housing groove 240,which forms an external groove for mounting a spring 148 that faces abore of an external housing 85, such as a sleeve. The length of thebottom wall 210 can be adjusted to determine the width of the housinggroove 260 or be dependent on the type and/or size of the spring 148 tobe accommodated. Similarly, the length of the sidewall 214 of thehousing section 200 can be selected to control a groove depth and theangle between the sidewall 214 and the bottom wall 210 can be adjustedto determine the depth of the housing groove 240 or to form a bottomgroove without a flat bottom. As previously alluded to, the term stampedhousing section 200 does not preclude some machining, such as to finetune certain geometries of the housing sections 200 to fine tune thecompleted connector housing 230. The connector housing 230 can also bemachined to certain modified dimensions.

With reference to FIGS. 12, 13, and 16-18, a single housing section 200can be coupled to, mate, or abut against a surface 60 of a housing body65 to form a connector housing 230. Thus, the embodiments described haveat least one housing section having a stamped or coined surface. Thesurface 60 for joining can be flat or curved or irregular and can bepart of a flange, a plate, a frame, etc. In the illustrated embodiment,the surface 60 of the housing body 65 is flat. The outer perimeter 204of the housing section 200 can be situated close to, such as alignedwith, the outer perimeter 64 of the body 65. The inner perimeter 66 ofthe body 65 can be substantially similar to the size of the bore 206.The housing groove 240 is cooperatively defined by the sidewall 214 ofthe housing section 200, the bottom wall 210, and the surface 60 of thebody 65. The length of the bottom wall 210 can be adjusted to determinethe width of the housing groove 240 or be dependent on the type and/orsize of the spring 148 to be accommodated. Similarly, the length of thesidewall 214 of the housing section 200 can be adjusted to determine thedepth of the housing groove 240. The bottom wall 210 of the housingsection 200 can be perpendicular or form an angle with the surface 60 ofthe body 65. The sidewall 214 of the housing section 200 can be parallelor form an angle with the surface 60 of the body 65.

With reference to FIGS. 13 and 18, the body 65 can have an opening,channel, or path, or bore 55 through the surface 60 to allow aconductive lead 70 to pass through the body 65 and electrically connectto the housing section 200. The conductive lead can be welded to thehousing section 200. The conductive lead 70 can alternatively be pressedfit to the opening or bore 55 of the housing body 65.

The canted coil spring 148 can be similar to one of the springsdiscussed elsewhere herein.

With reference to FIGS. 10-18, the housing section 200 is substantiallysimilar to the housing section 100 of FIGS. 1-4 except that the sidewall214 is extending outwardly away from the central axis of the housing andtherefore is configured to be used differently and for forming anexternal groove 240. When one housing section 200 is connected toanother housing section 200, an external housing groove 240 is formed.Similarly, the spring 148 can be placed in the recessed space 220 of oneof the housing sections prior to joining the two housing sections 200together. The housing section 200 can be used in a bore 80 of anexternal housing 85. The bore 80 of the external housing 85 can have aninternal groove 84. The internal groove 84 can have a bottom wall 82 andtwo sidewalls 88 a, 88 b which can be substantially parallel to eachother. In other examples, the wall surfaces 88 a, 88 b can be taperedand converge to the bottom wall 82 or to a point (i.e., no bottom wall).In still other examples, the bottom wall 82 can have a single taperrelative to the other sidewall 88 a, 88 b. In yet other examples, onesidewall 88 a, can be vertical while the other sidewall 88 b is slantedor tapered or vice versa. The external housing 85 can be connectable toother components. For example, the outer housing 85 can be connected toa first object and the connector housing 230 to a second object forsecuring the first object to the second object via the connectorassembly or for electrically connecting the first object to the objectvia the connector assembly 20. The outer diameter 155 of the spring 148is greater than the bore 80 of the housing. The outer perimeter of thehousing section 200 and the connector housing 230 is less than thediameter of the bore 80 of the external housing 85.

During assembly, the spring 148 can be placed in the recessed space 220of a first of two housing sections 200 and then a second housing section200 is attached to the first housing section 200. Alternatively, thespring 148 can be placed in the recessed space 220 of the first housingsection 200 and then together mounted to the surface 60 of a housingbody 65. This allows the spring 148 to be installed within the connectorhousing 230 with minimal deflection and stress to the spring 148, whichin turn reduces the possibility of mis-orientation of the spring contactwithin the housing groove 240. The installation of the spring 148 intothe spring groove when the housing section 200 is already joined to theother housing section 200 would require deflecting the spring 148 asignificant amount to fit the spring 148 through the housing borediameter and then once through the bore diameter, the spring 148 canexpand into the housing groove 240. However, this process can lead tothe spring 148 being tilted or mis-oriented within the groove uponexpanding, thus possibly resulting in a high force insertion or removalof the pin 40 in through the bore 206 of the one-piece connector housing230 such as by having the pin 40 contacting the spring 148 closer to themajor axis of the spring coils. The groove is sized and shaped toaccommodate a canted coil spring 148, which is shown as an axial cantedcoil spring with a radial canted coil spring contemplated. While onlytwo coils are shown, the canted coil spring 148 is understood to includea plurality of coils all canted in the same direction.

Furthermore, it is understood that the spring will only deflect alongone of two coil axes. However, it is contemplated that the presentlydisclosed connector housing can be used with a canted coil spring aftertwo housing sections are joined.

The connector assembly (10, 20) of the present disclosure can be used inor as a component of devices in which a connector is removably orpermanently coupled to another connector or housing. As such, theconnector assembly (10, 20) can be used in a wide variety ofapplications in which a spring groove is used to retain a spring andwherein a connection is to be made between a pin and a connector housingwith a spring, such as an implantable medical device (IMD).

In one such example, the connector assembly (10, 20) can substitute theconductive contact element in the implantable medical device disclosedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/025,682, published as U.S.Publication No. 2014/0079476, the relevant portion of which is hereinincorporated by reference. For example, the implantable medical devicecan comprise a can housing, a header, and an in-line connector stackcomprising a plurality of connector components having a common bore forreceiving a lead cable. Exemplary IMDs, such as implantable cardiodefibrillators, pacemakers, and programmable neuro-stimulator pulsegenerators are herein referred to as “implantable medical devices” orIMDs. IMDs and in-line connectors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.8,437,855, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein byreference. The can housing is a hermetically sealed device enclosing apower source and electronic circuitry for passing signals to the leadcable via the in-line connector.

The header has a bore for receiving the in-line connector stack, whichcomprises a plurality of seal elements, connector assemblies (10, 20),and springs. The seal elements are each configured to seal against thebore of the header and against the exterior surface of the lead cable.The spring contacts are configured to bias against the electricalterminals of the lead cable to pass signals or current from inside thecan housing, through the connector assemblies (10, 20), through thesprings, to the electrical terminals, and to the electrode leads locatedinside the lead cable and extending to the various parts of the humanbody to provide electrical stimulation to the body tissues.

An in-line connector stack can comprise a plurality of connectorcomponents located inside an encapsulation layer, which is configured toretain or hold the in-line connector stack away or outside of theheader. The encapsulated stack which comprises the encapsulation layersurrounding and retaining the in-line connector stack outside of aheader, can also have a mounting pin which resembles a lead cable exceptit is solid and does not carry electrode leads. The mounting pinfacilitates stacking of the various components for assembling purposes.The encapsulated stack can be assembled with a plurality of alternatingseal elements and connector assemblies (10, 20), each comprising aspring contact element to form the in-line connector stack.

The encapsulated stack would allow the integrity of the in-line stack tobe tested outside of a header and before it is installed in an IMD. Forexample, conductive leads may be attached to corresponding connectorassemblies (10, 20) through windows provided through the encapsulationlayer, such as by welding or soldering the leads to the interface of theconnector assemblies (10, 20). Thus, the windows on the encapsulationlayer as well as the conductor leads are aligned with correspondinginterfaces of two adjacent connector assemblies (10, 20). Test currentor signals may be applied through the conductor leads to test theoperability of the in-line connector, such as to test current sent tothe connector assemblies (10, 20) via the conductor leads. The stack canalso be tested by holding the components that form the connectorassemblies (10, 20) together with the spring contacts installed in theconnector assemblies (10, 20) and inserting a lead to find insertion,removal, and frictional forces, and electrical performance. Exemplaryencapsulated stacks and encapsulation layers but without the uniquestamped features of the present device, system, and method are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 8,215013, the contents of which are expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

With reference now to FIGS. 19A and 19B, cross-sectional views of twosimilar canted coil springs 148 with a plurality of coils 36 (only oneshown) all canted generally along a same canting direction, such as cantin the same direction of a coil centerline, and wherein at least one ofthe coils has a coil shape defined by two generally parallel straightsegments 270 with an elliptical segment 272 at each end that joins thetwo generally parallel straight segments 270 together installed in arectangular groove 274 of a housing 276. Each coil 36, for a typicalradial canted coil spring, has a coil height CH or shorter of two axes,which is generally orthogonal to the connector centerline, cL, and acoil width CW or longer of two axes, which is generally parallel to theconnector centerline, cL. However, as the canted coil springs of thepresent disclosure are modified, the axes of the coils that deflectradially of the coil centerline can be the longer or the shorter of twoaxes. Thus, a coil height CH can be longer than a coil width CW and thecoils can still deflect along the coil height, as further discussedbelow. Accordingly, in some instances, when called out, the coil heightCH can be designated as the shorter of two axes of the coil 36 or thelonger of two axes of the coil 36 due to the present disclosure'smodification of the coils and therefore how they can deflect or cant, asfurther discussed below.

The dimensions of the canted coil spring 148, such as coil height CH andcoil width CW, the coil shape, and which of the two axes will cant, canbe altered to the dimensions of the specific application, such as to thespecific shape or dimension of a groove or for a specific spring forcecharacteristics. Due to the generally parallel straight segments 270joined by two elliptical segments 272, the canted coil spring 148 mayproduce a lower CH/CW ratio, as depicted in FIG. 19A, or a relativelyhigher CH/CW ratio, as depicted in FIG. 19B, while leaving the deflectedcoil height (DCH), groove depth (GD), and groove width (GW) unaltered.In other words, in both the FIG. 19A embodiment and the FIG. 19Bembodiment, the coils 148 deflect in a radial direction relative to thelengthwise axis of the connector assembly 280, which is radial of therespective connector centerline, cL, eventhough in the two figures, theorientation of the longer axis differ. Thus, although the longer axis ofthe coils 36 spring of FIG. 19B is orthogonal to the centerline of theassembly and appears to be an axial spring, the spring is a radialcanted coil spring and is coiled to cant along the longer of two axes ofthe coils, such as cant in the radial direction to the centerline. Incontrast, existing prior art canted coil springs with elliptical coilsdeflect or cant along the shorter of the two axes only. In the presentembodiment, canting only along the shorter of the two axes may or maynot apply, which is a unique feature not present in prior art cantedcoil springs. Thus, the canting can take place along the longer of twoaxes or the shorter of two axes. The direction of canting can be formedby turning the coils so that they all cant in the same direction whilealso controlling the coil height CH and coil width CW during coiling.The process of coiling the various canted coil springs described hereincan be accomplished using a programmable machine having multi-axescapabilities for bending or coiling a wire to form the desired shape.

Thus, an aspect of the present disclosure is understood to include acanted coil spring having a coil height CH and a coil width CW andwherein the coil deflect along the coil height CH, which can be longerthan the coil width CW, the same as the coil width CW, or shorter thanthe coil width CW. As shown in FIG. 19B, the canted coil spring 148comprises a plurality of coils 36 and wherein each coil has a first coilaxis and a second coil axis, which is longer than the first coil axis,and wherein the second coil axis defects or cants in a radial direction,orthogonal to the centerline cL of the connector assembly 280.

The canted coil spring's generally parallel straight segments 270 formline contacts with adjacent contacting surfaces of the housing 276 andthe pin 282, which prevent the spring 148 from rolling or rotating whilein the groove 274. Additionally, the present connector embodimentsprovide increased contact surface areas compared to prior art contactsbetween a pin and/or a housing and a typical curvature of an ellipticalcoil. For example, with prior art curved coil shapes, contact areasbetween the coils and the adjacent contact surfaces, such as the housingand/or pin, are generally contact points rather than line contacts. Inthe present embodiments utilizing parallel straight segments 270, thecoils 36 contact with the straight edge of the piston and the straightedge of the housing groove bottom (FIG. 19A), which contact acrosslarger surface areas compared to point contacts, such as a curvedsurface contacting a flat surface. Looking at FIG. 19B, the parallelstraight segments 270 contact the straight housing groove sides orsidewalls (FIG. 19B), which is especially advantageous in electricalapplications, where increased in contact areas is generally moredesirable for better electrical conductivity.

The groove 274 may be part of a housing 276, which has a bore 106 forreceiving a pin, piston or shaft 282. The pin 282 is shown without a pingroove, which in other embodiments can be incorporated, such as shown inFIGS. 2, 6, and 8. The pin groove can have different groove geometriesto function as a latching connector and permit the pin to separate fromthe housing or a locking connector that does not allow the pin toseparate from the housing. Further, the housing 276 can be machined orcan be the same as one of the multi-part housings of FIGS. 1-18, whichhas at least one housing section having a stamped section cold workedand shaped with a die. In other words, the canted coil spring 148 ofFIGS. 19A and 19B may be used with any of the connectors 10, 20 of FIGS.1-18.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C show three different canted coil springs 148each comprising a plurality of coils 36 all with polygonal geometrieslocated in a groove 274 of a housing 276, which may be any of theconnector housings shown and described with reference to FIGS. 1-18 orwith a machined housing with a machined housing groove. The specificpolygonal geometry of the coils 36 may be adapted to the particulargroove geometry that each spring 148 is positioned in or installed into.Coils 36 with such polygonal geometries can be, for example, apentagonal shaped coil 290 with two right angles 292 for use in a groove274 having two generally parallel sidewalls 294 and a flat bottom wall298 located therebetween (FIG. 20A), an equilateral pentagonal shapedcoil 290 for use in a groove 274 with chamfered surfaces 296, which hasa flat bottom wall 298 located between two tapered sidewalls 296 (FIG.20B), or a rhombus-shaped coil 290 for use in a groove 274 with aV-bottom (FIG. 20C). The V-bottom of FIG. 20C can also include a lip toaccommodate part of the two side apexes of each coil. In other examples,the canted coil springs 148 of FIGS. 20A-20C are usable with themulti-part housings of FIGS. 1-18, each of which having at least onehousing section having a stamped section shaped with a die and whereinthe housing sections of a connector housing are shaped to havecorresponding surfaces to accommodate polygonal shaped springs, orvice-versa—the springs coiled with a certain shape to fit the housinggroove geometry.

Due to adaptation of the polygonal geometries of the coils 290 of thecanted coil spring 148 of the present disclosure to the particulargroove geometries they are installed into, the canted coil springs areable to maintain their position with little to no spring rolling. Thisallows for better control of insertion and removal forces as well asslip prevention in rotary applications. Additionally, increased contactareas are provided by the straight coil segments 270 of the springs 148abutting against the straight edges of the housing groove sides. Thisincreased in contact areas is especially advantageous in electricalapplications where greater contact areas are desired for betterelectrical conductivity. Other coil geometries may also be implemented,such as isosceles triangle, right triangle, rectangle, parallelogram,pentagon, five-sided, six-sided or higher.

Thus, an aspect of the present disclosure is understood to include acanted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of interconnected cantedcoils 36 each with a complex coil shape. In an example, the coil has apolygonal shape. In some examples, the polygonal shape structure is apentagonal shaped coil. In other examples, the polygonal shape structureis an equilateral pentagonal shaped coil. In still other examples, thepolygonal shape structure is a rhombus-shaped coil. The polygonal shapestructure can also be rectangular. The polygonal shaped coils areconfigured to be positioned into grooves having partially matchingcontours. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 20A, the two generallyparallel and straight sides with a flat bottom side of the pentagonalshaped coil is configured to fit into a matching square shaped groove,which has two generally parallel sidewalls and a flat bottom wall. Thehousings with grooves that the springs of FIGS. 20A-20C can be used withcan be machined or can be one of the connector housings disclosedelsewhere herein made from multi-pieces in which at least one of thehousing sections of the connector housing has a stamped section and acontour formed by cold working a blank with a die.

FIGS. 21A and 21B show cross-sectional views of two types of canted coilsprings 148 each with a plurality of coils 36 and wherein each coil hasa geometry where angle α can determine insertion force and angle β candetermine removal force when used in a mechanical connector. Each coil36 has a coil height CH and a coil width orthogonal to the coil height.The coils deflect along the direction of the coil height CH. Due to thecanted coil springs' geometries with controllable angles α and β, pistoninsertion and removal forces, such as when used with the assembly ofFIG. 2 and the pin 40 is inserted into the housing 130 to generate aninsertion force and subsequently removed to generate a removal force,can be controlled by configuring the angles α and β of the coils 36 ofthe canted coil spring 148 without the need to modify the angles of thepin groove, the housing groove, or both grooves, to control theinsertion and removal forces. Said differently, for the same combinationof pin and housing and certain groove geometries, different insertionand disconnect forces can be obtained by taking the same canted coilspring but varying angles α and β. Different combinations of sliding,insertion and removal forces can be obtained given the same pin andhousing but changing the shape of the coils 36 of the canted coilsprings 148 usable with the same pin and housing, such as changingdifferent coil springs with coils having different angles α and β, asdepicted in FIGS. 21A and 21B. This design is especially advantageous ineasy disconnect applications when low insertion force to insert a pinand high removal force to remove the pin are desired. In both examples,angle α is less than angle β. Assume that the canted coil springs ofFIGS. 21A and 21B are both located in a housing groove and a pin isinserted into the spring and the housing bore from left to rightrelative to the viewing perspective of FIGS. 21A and 21B, insertionforces will be lower, when moving the pin left to right, than removalforces, when removing the pin by moving from right to left. The smallerangle, such as angle α in the two springs shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B, isformed by providing a long coil segment 300 connected to a relativelyshorter coil segment 302, which creates a larger angle β so that thesegments of the coil connect. When engaged by a pin, such as duringinsertion by moving from left to right and removal by moving from rightto left, the segment of the coil with the smaller angle more readilydefect than the segment with the larger angle, which produces lowerinsertion forces than removal forces.

Conversely, for the same springs of FIGS. 21A and 21B, same housinggroove, and same pin groove, but insertion of the pin is from right toleft and removal is from left to right, the insertion forces will behigher than the removal forces due to the relative positions of angle αand angle β and the direction of movement of the pin. In other words,the pin will contact the coil segment with the larger angle β firstduring insertion and will interact with the coil segment with thesmaller angle α second during removal or retraction thereby producingremoval forces that are less than insertion forces.

FIG. 22 shows a cross-sectional view of a connector assembly 310comprising a housing 276 having a housing groove 274, a pin 282, whichcan also be called a piston or a rod, with a pin groove 312, a taperedinsertion end 312, and a canted coil spring 148 located in the housinggroove 274, or is housing mounted. The spring 148 has a plurality ofcanted coils 36 (only one shown)_and wherein the shaped of each coil isa pentagonal shaped geometry where angle α is equal to angle β.Reference to angles α and β are taken from the same locations orpositions as that of FIG. 21B. The canted coil spring 148 is installedin a correspondingly sized rectangular housing groove 274 and approachedby a pin 282 with a latching groove 312. The pin groove 312 has a bottomsurface 298 and two chamfered sidewalls 296 for accepting the twostraight coil segments 270 that are angled relative to one another. Thegeometry of the coil 36 shown may be pentagonal with two right anglesfor use in a flat housing groove 274 or an equilateral pentagonal shapedcoil for use in a chamfered groove, similar to the groove of FIG. 20B.The insertion and removal forces will be approximately the same given apin with a symmetrical groove and angles α and β on the coils beinggenerally the same. However, as discussed above, the angles on the coilscan be modified so that angles α and β have different angle values. Dueto the pentagonal shaped geometry of the coils of the canted coil springwith controllable angles α and β, piston insertion and removal forces tolatch and unlatch from the housing 276 can be controlled by modifyingthe angles of the coils 36 of the canted coil spring 148 without theneed to also modify the angles of the pin groove 312, the housing groove274, or both grooves. Different combinations of sliding, insertion andremoval forces can be obtained given the same pin and housing groovesbut with canted coil springs having different angles α and β, such asdiscussed above with reference to the springs 148 of FIGS. 21A and 21B.The connector assembly 310 of FIG. 22 is especially advantageous incertain applications where insertion and removal forces are desired tobe equal, by adopting approximately the same angles α and β for thecoils 36 of the canted coil spring 148. In other examples, the angles αand β of the coils 36 of FIG. 22 can be altered to have differentvalues.

The springs in the following embodiments may be assumed to be usablewith a machined housing having a groove or with one of the multi-parthousings of FIGS. 1-18, discussed above, wherein each multi-piecehousing has at least one housing section having a stamped section shapedby cold working with a die and wherein the housing sections of themulti-piece housing, and particularly the housing groove formed thereby,are shaped to accommodate the unique spring coil shapes discussedherein.

FIGS. 23A and 23B show cross-sectional views of canted coil springs 148with coils (only one shown) 36 having pentagonal geometries where angleα is not equal to angle β. The coils 36 also have a straight segment 270connected to two additional segments 270 at defined angles 320, whichcan be right angles. However, these defined angles 320 can be acute orobtuse angles. Reference to angles α and β are taken from the samelocations or positions as that of FIG. 21A or FIG. 21B.

The geometry of the coil 36 may be pentagonal shaped with two rightangles 320 for use in a flat housing groove 274 (FIG. 22), or withequally slanted sides for use in a chamfered housing groove, similar toFIG. 20B. If insertion forces are desired to be less than removalforces, assuming insertion direction of a pin is left to right andremoval is right to left, the spring 148 of FIG. 23A may be used, whereangle α is less than angle β. Alternatively, if insertion forces aredesired to be greater than removal forces, the spring 148 of FIG. 23Bmay be used, where angle α on the coil 36 is greater than angle β. Dueto the canted coil spring's pentagonal shaped geometry with controllableangles α and β for the coils 36, piston insertion and removal forces canbe controlled by alternating the angles on the coils 36 of the spring148 without the need to modify the angles or shapes of the pin groove312, the housing groove 274, or both. Different combinations of sliding,insertion and removal forces can be obtained given the same pin andhousing groove geometries but whereby the coils with angles α and β arealtered, as discussed elsewhere herein. The spring 148 of FIG. 23A isespecially advantageous, with coils in which angle α is smaller thanangle β, when using in a latching connector application where lowinsertion and high removal forces are desired, again assuming the samemounting orientation for angles α and β and insertion and removaldirections for the pin. For the same connector assembly but using thespring 148 of FIG. 23B, the insertion forces will be higher than theremoval forces due to the changed angles α and β.

FIGS. 23C and 23D show cross-sectional views of canted coil springs 148having a plurality of coils 36 (only one shown) each with righttrapezoidal geometries where angle α is not equal to angle β. Referenceto angles α and β are taken from the same locations or positions as thatof FIG. 21A or FIG. 21B. The same insertion and removal directions arealso assumed when the springs 148 shown are used with a connectorassembly comprising a housing with a groove and a pin with a groove.However, the pin can also not include a groove in a holding application.If insertion forces are desired to be less than removal forces, thespring 148 of FIG. 23C may be used, where angle α is less than angle β.If insertion forces are desired to be greater than removal forces, thespring 148 of FIG. 4D may be used, where angle α is greater than angleβ. Due to the canted coil spring's trapezoidal geometry withcontrollable angles α and β for the coils 36, piston insertion andremoval forces can be controlled by altering the angles α and β on thecoils of the canted coil spring 148 without the need to modify theangles of the pin groove, the housing groove, or both. Differentcombinations of sliding, insertion and removal forces can be obtainedgiven the same pin and housing groove geometries but whereby the coilswith angles α and β are altered, as discussed elsewhere herein. Thespring 148 of FIG. 23C is especially advantageous in applications whenlow insertion and high removal forces are desired as angle α is smallerthan angle β. For the same connector assembly but using the spring 148of FIG. 23D, the insertion forces will be higher than the removal forcesdue to the changed angles α and β.

FIGS. 23E and 23F show cross-sectional views of canted coil springs 148comprising a plurality of coils 36 (only one shown) with pentagonalshaped geometries where the coil height and wire thickness areincreased, respectively, as compared to the springs 148 of FIGS.23A-23D. By increasing the coil height (FIG. 23E), both insertion andremoval forces may be increased due to the larger angles α and β (incomparison to angles α and β incorporated with the coils 36 of FIG. 4).

The canted coil spring 148 of FIG. 23F has coils 36 with pentagonalshaped geometries. However, the spring 148 is formed using a heavierwire to form the coils of the spring, which has the same shape as thecoils of FIG. 22. By using the heavier wire, sliding, insertion, andremoval forces when the canted coil spring 148 is used with a housingand a pin may increase due to increased strength of the canted coilspring material, as compared to the same shaped coils and same angles αand β. When combined with the previous embodiments (increasing angleα/angle β, decreasing angle α/angle β) and available angle variations ofthe various coils, these modifications to the canted coil springs 148themselves can achieve the desired insertion and removal forces. Thus,due to canted coil spring geometries where coil height and wirethickness are varied, piston insertion and removal forces can becontrolled by controlling aspects of the spring itself, such as angles,wire diameters, and coil height, without the need to modify the anglesof the pin groove, the housing groove, or both grooves. Differentcombinations of sliding, insertion and removal forces can be obtained byvarying aspects of the spring only for the same pin and housing.

FIG. 24 shows a connector assembly 330 comprising a housing 332 and apin 334, which has a centerline cL and a pin insertion end with achamfered surface (not shown). Unless indicated otherwise, the pins orpistons disclosed herein are solid or have solid cores and have an endsurface or end wall adjacent the insertion end. FIG. 24 shows across-sectional view of three canted coil springs 148, each with aplurality of coils 36 (only one shown). Each coil 36 has anon-elliptical and non-rectangular shape and comprises an interior loop336 that is located entirely within the outer contour of the coil 36.The loop 336 forms a dimple 338 on one of the sides of the coil 36. Asshown, the dimple is a concave segment on a side of the coil, whichproduces two lips or two contact points on either side of the concavesegment for producing two contact points when contacting a surface.Thus, compared to a straight edge, the dimple 338 side of the coil formstwo contact points 340 for contacting the pin surface, which can be flator includes a convex protrusion, as discussed below.

The three canted coil springs 148 are inserted into threecorrespondingly sized rectangular grooves 274 of the housing 332 and apiston or pin 334 with three corresponding convex protrusions 342contact the coils. Due to the unique cross-sectional shape of the cantedcoil spring 148 of FIG. 24 as well as the corresponding convexprotrusions 342 of the piston 334, a latch connection can beaccomplished when the protrusions 342 rest in the dimples 338 of thecoils 36. In other words, a latch connection can be accomplished withthe present connector assembly 330 without incorporating a pin groove,as is typically required in prior art latching connectors that utilize ahousing with a housing groove and a pin with a pin groove and wherein acanted coil spring is captured between the two grooves in a latchingapplication. The same latching concept can be practiced in a connectorassembly of the present disclosure using only a single canted coilspring 148 instead of three, as shown with reference to FIG. 25. Thelatching connector can also be practiced with more than three cantedcoil springs 148 and more than three housing grooves. Latching, as usedherein, is understood to mean securing a pin to a housing using morethan just friction forces and biasing forces of the spring, which isunderstood to be a holding application. As disclosed, the connectorassembly 330 is a latching connector in that the latching requires acertain force, i.e., removal force, to deflect the springs in order forthe pin to separate from the housing. For a holding application, removalof the pin simply requires overcoming the friction force between thecoils and the surface of the pin during retraction of the pin withoutfurther canting or further deflecting the coils of the canted coilspring during the retraction. As shown, to separate the pin 334 from thehousing 332, the coils must be deflected, such as by pulling the pin sothat the protrusions ride against the dimples 338, so that the low pointof the protrusions 342 can cant the coils 36 to then slide past thedimples 338 and the pin to separate from the housing 332.

Thus, an aspect of the present disclosure is understood to include alatching connector wherein a groove in the pin or a groove in thehousing is incorporated but not both. In a particular example, thegroove is in the housing and the pin comprises a convex protrusion forengaging a dimple on each of a plurality of coils of a caned coilspring.

Additionally, the multiple contact points between the canted coil springcoils 148 and the piston 334, as provided by the dimples 338, and theincreased contact areas provided by the straight coil segments alongother segments of the coils against the straight housing groove bottomsof the three housing grooves is especially advantageous in electricalapplications, where more contact points or increased contact areas isdesired for better electrical conductivity. The coils are also morestable within the housing groove and less prone to rolling due to thelarger surface contacts between the straight segments of the coils andthe surfaces of the housing grooves.

The use of multiple springs 148 in a connector assembly allows formultiple contacts in parallel, whether it is for higher currentcapabilities or for a higher number of electrical channels. Due to thecanted coil springs' rectangular shape lower sections abutting againstthe bottom surfaces of the housing grooves, wherein the straight coilsegments contact the groove bottoms, the canted coil springs are able tomaintain their positions with little to no spring rolling. This allowsfor better control of insertion/removal forces as well as slipprevention in rotary applications.

FIG. 25 shows a connector assembly 350 having a housing 352, a pin 354,and a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils 36 (onlyone shown). FIG. 25 shows the canted coil spring 148 having anon-elliptical and non-rectangular shape and comprising at least aninterior loop 336 that is entirely within the outer contour of thecoil's complex shape. The interior loop 336 creates a dimple 338 alongone of the sides of the coil 36. The canted coil spring 148 is insertedor positioned into a housing groove 274 of the housing 352 with acorrespondingly sized rectangular groove 274 so that at least the bottomstraight segment of the coil 36 contacts the groove bottom of thehousing groove 274. The piston or pin 354 has a convex protrusion 342.This geometry ensures contact between the canted coil spring 148 and thepin 354, latching the pin, and more particularly the convex protrusion342, in the dimple 338 of the spring 148 while also allowing for pinrotation relative to the housing 352. Due to the unique cross-sectionalshape of the canted coil spring 148 with the dimple 338 as well as thecorresponding convex protrusion 342 of the piston 354, a latchconnection can be accomplished without incorporating a groove in boththe pin and the housing. Instead, a single groove in the housing 352 isincorporated to form the latching connector of the present disclosure.In an example, a convex protrusion 342 formed on the exterior of the pin354 is sized and shaped to engage a dimple 338 formed on one of thesides of coils 36 of the canted coil spring 148.

Additionally, multiple contact points are formed by incorporating thedimple 338. For example, at least two contact points are present betweenthe coils 36 of the canted coil spring 148 on the side of the coil withthe dimple 338 contacting the piston 354. The convex surface on the pinproduces two contact points with the coil at the dimple. However, pincan have a flat surface and still produce two contact points with thecoil at the dimple. This increases the number of contact points comparedto a normal convex arc typically found with prior art coils. The contactareas are also increased by other parts of the coils, such as where thestraight coil segments 270 of the plurality of coils 36 abutting againstthe straight housing groove bottom. This is especially advantageous inelectrical applications where more contact points are contact areas aredesired for better electrical conductivity. Due to the canted coilspring's rectangular shape along a lower end, such as the straightsegments 270, abutting against the housing groove bottom, the cantedcoil spring is able to maintain its position with little to no springrolling during installation and during pin insertion and removal. Thisallows for better control of insertion/removal forces as well as slipprevention in rotary applications.

FIG. 26A shows a variation of the canted coil spring 148 shown in FIG.25. FIG. 26A shows a cross-sectional view of a canted coil spring 148having a plurality of non-elliptical and nonrectangular shape coils 36(only one shown) each comprising at least one interior loop 336 that islocated or arranged entirely within an outer contour of saidcross-sectional profile. The loop 336 forms a dimple 338 on one of thesides of the coil 36. Whereas the base of the coil in thecross-sectional view of FIG. 25 is flat and rectangular, the base 360 ofthe coil in the cross-sectional view in FIG. 26A is curved. Due to theunique cross-sectional shape of the canted coil spring 148 of thepresent embodiment as well as the corresponding convex protrusion 342 ofa piston 354 usable with the spring 148, such as the piston 354 of FIG.25, a latch connection can be accomplished without incorporating a pingroove, although it is possible to use the present spring with aconvention pin groove in a latching connector application. Additionally,multiple contact points between the coil 36 of canted coil spring andthe piston 354 is especially advantageous in electrical applications,where more contact points are desired for better electricalconductivity. Due to the canted coil spring's multi-contact design, thecanted coil spring 148 of the present embodiment is able to maintain itsposition with little to no spring rolling. For example, a housing groovewith straight sidewalls and a curved bottom to match the base 360 of thespring 148 will allow the spring to seat within the housing groove in avery stable condition with little to no spring rolling. This allows forbetter control of insertion/removal forces as well as slip prevention inrotary applications.

FIGS. 26B, 26C, and 26D show cross-sectional views of three canted coilsprings 148 each spring with a plurality of coils 36 (only one shown).The cross-sectional views of each of said canted coil springs showing acoil with a non-elliptical and non-rectangular shape and comprising atleast an interior loop 336 arranged entirely within an outer contour ofsaid coil. Said cross-sectional views showing a coil 36 with a bow tieshape (FIG. 26B) in which two dimples 338 are formed on an exterior oftwo of the sides of the coil, an infinity or number “8” shape with twocircular coils having an interior loop 336 (FIG. 26C) and two dimples338, or sets of generally parallel straight segments 270 each joined byelliptical segments 272 (FIG. 26D) to form an “X” shape having aninterior loop 336. The canted coil spring 148 of FIG. 26D has fourexternal dimples 338. Due to the unique cross-sectional shapes of thecanted coil springs 148, the number of contact points between the pistonor pin and the canted coil spring 146 of FIGS. 26A-26D and between thehousing and the canted coil spring 148 of FIGS. 26A-26D, when saidsprings are used in a connector assembly having a housing and a piston,can increase due to the dimple or dimples, straight, and curved segmentsincorporated in those springs. This multi-contact design is especiallyadvantageous in electrical applications, where more contact points aredesired for better electrical conductivity. Due to the adaptation of thecanted coil springs' multi-contact design, the canted coil springs areable to maintain their position with little to no spring rolling. Thisallows for better control of insertion/removal forces as well as slipprevention in rotary applications.

FIG. 27 shows a connector assembly 370 with a canted coil spring 148comprising a plurality of coils 36 (only one shown) located in a housinggroove 274 of a housing 352 and contacting a shaft or pin 354. The pin354 does not incorporate a pin groove, or a convex projection, and theconnector application is readily recognized as a holding application.The spring 148 with the coil shape shown is similar to the spring ofFIG. 26A. Due to the shape of the cross-sectional profile of the coils36, each coil is able to achieve two contact points with the straightshaft or pin 354. As discussed above, each coil 36 has an interior loop336 to form a dimple 338 on one of the sides of the spring coil. Thedimple forms a concave or recess section or segment on one of the sidesof the coil to define two contact points. Additionally, two points ofcontact are provided between the housing 352 and the curved base 360 ofthe canted coil spring 148, accomplished with the use of a V-bottomgroove 274, which has two slanted surfaces converging at a point. Thesefeatures may improve performance of electrical connectors.

FIG. 28 shows a cross-sectional view of canted coil spring 148comprising a plurality of coils 36 (only one shown) each with anon-elliptical and non-rectangular shape. As shown, the coil has astar-shaped geometry with the wire of the canted coil spring following apentagram pattern. Due to the unique cross-sectional shape of the cantedcoil spring 148, the number of contact points between the piston or pinand the canted coil spring 148 and between the housing and canted coilspring 148, when the spring 148 of FIG. 28 is used in a connectorassembly with a housing and a pin, can increase, assuming the groove ischamfered and fitted. This multi-contact design is especiallyadvantageous in electrical applications, where more contact points aredesired for better electrical conductivity. Due to the canted coilspring's multi-contact design, the canted coil spring is able tomaintain its position with little to no spring rolling. This allows forbetter control of insertion/removal forces as well as slip prevention inrotary applications.

FIGS. 29A and 29B show cross-sectional views of two canted coil springs148 each with a plurality of coils 36 (only one shown) and each coilwith multi-loops 374 and each coil with a geometry that resembles athree-leaf clover or a four-leaf clover. Said multi-loop geometrycomprises multiple tear drop shaped loops 374, each comprising a teardrop tip 376, wherein each tear drop tip generally converges to the samepoint when viewing the cross-sectional profile. Due to the uniquecross-sectional shape of the canted coil springs, the number of totalcontact points between piston and the canted coil spring 148 and betweenthe housing and the canted coil spring 148 when used in a connectorassembly may increase to 3 (in FIG. 29A) or 4 (FIG. 29B). These springswith multi-contacts are especially advantageous in electricalapplications, where more contact points are desired for betterelectrical conductivity. Due to the canted coil springs' multi-contactdesign, the canted coil springs are able to maintain their position withlittle to no spring rolling. This allows for better control ofinsertion/removal forces as well as slip prevention in rotaryapplications.

In the following exemplary connector assemblies, a section of aconnector housing is shown having a canted coil spring located therein.The connector housing may be one of the multi-part housings shown inFIGS. 1-18 in which at least one of the housing sections is formed bystamping and having a shape formed by cold working a blank with a die.The connector housing and spring are both understood to be annular andis configured to receive a pin, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5-8 orproject into a bore of an external housing, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11,and 14-17. The pin and the external housing having the bore are notshown for clarity and can include a pin groove or an inside housinggroove, respectively. Further, the housing groove can have differentgroove shapes than shown, such as having a V-bottom as shown in FIG. 5,tapered sidewalls, chamfered sidewalls with a lip, a single taperedbottom surface with a sidewall as shown in FIG. 8, etc.

With reference now to FIG. 30, a canted coil spring 148 comprising aplurality of coils 36 (only one shown) is shown located in a housinggroove 140 of a connector housing 130, which is formed by attaching twohousing sections 100 together and welding a seam or parting line. Thehousing groove is generally square with a flat bottom and two parallelsidewalls and a groove width. The coil 36 has a major axis and a minoraxis and is located within the groove 140 at a turned angle due to themajor axis of the coil being wider than the width of the housing groove140. Alternatively, the coils can have a pre-turned angle and the springcan be positioned in the housing groove and not contact the sidewalls ofthe housing groove, as shown.

FIG. 31 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 discussed withreference to FIG. 19A and comprises one or more straight coil segments170. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. Atleast one of the straight coil segments 170 contact the flat bottomsurface of the housing groove 140 to increase contact surface areas,such as from one or more points to a line contact.

FIG. 32 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 discussed withreference to FIG. 19B and comprises one or more straight coil segments170. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. One ortwo straight coil segments 170 can contact the sidewalls. The coilheight of the present coil is increased and the plurality of coils areconfigured to cant along the coil height, which in the presentembodiment is the longer of the two axes and perpendicular to lengthwiseaxis of the shaft, which is parallel to the bottom surface of thehousing groove shown.

FIG. 33 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 of different shapes and sizes located in a housing groove 140 of aconnector housing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections100 together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove 140is generally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coils 36 comprise a first loop 380, a second loop 382,which is smaller than the first loop, and a third loop 384, which issmaller than the second loop. The coils 36 can repeat in this patternand can include other loops and/or other patterns. The first and secondloops 380, 382 are sized and arranged so that a lower base segment 388of each loop contacts the flat bottom of the housing groove 140. Thethird loop 384 is spaced from the housing groove and can be employed tocontrol the spring force or biasing force on the housing and/or the pin.For example, while the number of coils may be the same as other cantedcoil springs, i.e., coil density, the number of coils that contact thehousing and/or the pin can be altered by changing the sizes to controlhow many coils that actually contact. The spring ring can be madesmaller with the present canted coil spring as fewer coils are arrangedalong the spring inside spring diameter, which allows the garter ring todecrease in size.

FIG. 34 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 of different shapes and sizes located in a housing groove 140 of aconnector housing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections100 together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove 140is generally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coils 36 comprise a first loop 380 and a second loop382, which is smaller than the first loop. The coils 36 can repeat inthis pattern and can include other loops and/or other patterns. Thefirst and second loops 380, 382 are sized and arranged so that a lowerbase segment 388 of each loop contacts the flat bottom of the housinggroove 140. The first loop 380 can contact the sidewalls of the housinggroove or be spaced therefrom, like the second loop 382. In the presentembodiment, all coils can contact the housing groove but only about 50%of the coils touch the pin. For example, only the coils represented bythe first loop 380 will touch the pin when the pin is inserted into thespring opening. The spring ring can be made smaller with the presentcanted coil spring as fewer coils are arranged along the spring insidespring diameter, which allows the garter ring to decrease in size.

FIG. 35 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 of different shapes and sizes located in a housing groove 140 of aconnector housing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections100 together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove 140is generally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coils 36 comprise a first loop 380, a second loop 382,which is smaller than the first loop, and a third loop 384, which isabout the same size as the second loop. The coils 36 can repeat in thispattern and can include other loops and/or other patterns. The firstloop 380 is sized and arranged so that a lower base segment 388 of eachloop contacts the flat bottom of the housing groove 140 and the upperbase segment 390 contacts the pin, when the pin is inserted into thering opening of the canted coil spring 148. The second loop 382 isarranged to contact the pin like the first loop, but not the housing.The third loop 384 is arranged to contact the housing groove like thefirst loop, but not the pin. The spring ring can be made smaller withthe present canted coil spring as fewer coils are arranged along thespring inside spring diameter, which allows the garter ring to decreasein size. Further, by controlling the number of coils that contact thepin and/or the housing, the spring force can be varied.

FIG. 36 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 arranged laterally to increase the overall width of the spring. Twointerior loops 336 are provided for every three coils 36, which can allbe of the same shape and size but in other examples can be different.The spring 148 is located in a housing groove 140 of a connector housing130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100 together andwelding a seam or parting line.

The housing groove 140 is generally square with a flat bottom and twoparallel sidewalls and a groove width. Unlike the spring 148 of FIG. 32in which the coil height CH of each coil is increased, in the presentembodiment, the coils are staggered to increase the coil width CW andthe groove width is increased accordingly to accommodate the canted coilspring 148. The staggered coils can repeat in this pattern and caninclude other loops and/or other patterns.

FIG. 37 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is triangular in shape with rounded corners394. The coil 36 can have equal sides and therefore having angle α andangle β that are about the same. A lower straight segment 270 of thecoil 36 can contact the flat bottom of the housing groove 140. The coil36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. Two or three of thesides of the triangular shaped coil can change to vary angles α and β tovary insertion and disconnect forces, as described elsewhere herein.

FIG. 38 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is triangular in shape with rounded corners394. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. Thecoil 36 can be a right triangle in which the angles α and β are aboutthe same. However, the triangle can be other than a right triangle andthe sides are not equal in length to vary angles α and β. A lowerstraight segment 270 of the coil 36 can contact the flat bottom of thehousing groove 140. The shape of the coil 36 can be modified to varyangles α and β to vary insertion and disconnect forces, as describedelsewhere herein.

FIG. 39 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is generally square in shape with roundedcorners 394. The coil 36 can instead be rectangular in shape. A lowerstraight segment 270 of the coil 36 can contact the flat bottom of thehousing groove 140. The shape of the coil 36 can be modified to varyangles α and β to vary insertion and disconnect forces, as describedelsewhere herein.

FIG. 40 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 may be considered a rhombus shape with roundedcorners 394 and with equal side segments. The coil 36 is non-ellipticaland non-rectangular in shape. The coil 36 can instead have differentside lengths to vary the coil height and/or coil width to vary angles αand β to vary insertion and disconnect forces, as described elsewhereherein.

FIG. 41 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 may be considered a pentagonal shape withrounded corners 394 and similar to the coil 36 shown with reference toFIG. 23E. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape.

The coil 36 can have different side lengths to vary the coil heightand/or coil width to vary angles α and β to vary insertion anddisconnect forces, as described elsewhere herein.

FIG. 42 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 may be considered a convex polygon in shapewith rounded corners 394 and similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 23C. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape.The coil 36 can have different side lengths to vary the coil heightand/or coil width to vary angles α and β to vary insertion anddisconnect forces, as described elsewhere herein.

FIG. 43 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 may be considered a five sided polygon withrounded corners 394 and similar to the coil 36 shown with reference toFIG. 23E. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape.The coil 36 can have different side lengths to vary the coil heightand/or coil width to vary angles α and β to vary insertion anddisconnect forces, as described elsewhere herein.

FIG. 44 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 may be considered a five sided polygon withrounded corners 394 and similar to the coil 36 shown with reference toFIG. 28. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. Asshown, the coil has a star-shaped geometry with the wire of the cantedcoil spring following a pentagram pattern. The coil 36 can havedifferent side lengths to vary the coil height and/or coil width, asdescribed elsewhere herein.

FIG. 45 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 has generally parallel straight segments 270each joined by elliptical segments 272 and arranged in a “T” shape. Thecoil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. The coil 36 hasstraight segments 270 to form line contacts and can increase surfacecontact areas with the bottom surface of the housing groove 140.

FIG. 46 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 26D. The coil 36 is non-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape.The “X” shape of the coil 36 gives it a wide working range ofdeflection. The “X” shape of the coil 36 also provides multiple spacedapart contacts with the bottom surface of the housing groove.

FIG. 47 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 29A.

FIG. 48 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 29B.

FIG. 49 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 24.

FIG. 50 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 26A.

FIG. 51 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 26B.

FIG. 52 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 shown has four sides 400, including at leastone straight segment 270 for forming a line contact with a groove bottomof the housing groove 140. As shown, the straight segment 270 isconnected to two side segments 402 at right angles. The two sidesegments 402 can have equal lengths as shown or can have unequallengths. The upper segment 404 opposite the straight bottom segment 270can be curved or arcuate and connects to the two side segments 402. Thecurved upper segment can project away from the housing groove bottomsurface. The two side segments can be straight as shown or each caninclude a curved section. The coil 36 can have equal sides and thereforehaving angle α and angle β that are about the same. The coil 36 isnon-elliptical and non-rectangular in shape. Two or three of the sidesof the coil can change to vary angles α and β to vary insertion anddisconnect forces, as described elsewhere herein. The curved uppersegment 404 facilitates insertion of a pin and the equal sides 402produce generally similar insertion and removal forces when the spring146 is used with a pin. Thus, an aspect of the present coil 36 isunderstood to include three or more straight segments and wherein two ofthe three straight segments are side segments and one of the threestraight segments is a bottom segment joining the two side segments, andwherein a curved upper segment joins the two side segments, such as at alocation opposite the bottom segment.

FIG. 53 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 240 of a connectorhousing 230, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 200together and welding a seam or parting line. The connector housing 230is similar to the housing of FIG. 10 and is configured for projectinginto a bore an exterior housing. Alternatively, the connector housing230 can be similar to the connector housing of FIG. 1. The housinggroove 240 is generally square with a flat bottom and two parallelsidewalls and a groove width. The coil 36 is generally elliptical andhas a major axis and a minor axis and is located within the groove 240the combination housing and spring configured to be inserted into a boreof an external housing, similar to the assembly shown in FIGS. 10 and11. In the present embodiment, a dimple 410 is formed on the coil 36 tocreate an inwardly arc section to thereby form two contact points 412,414 when the coil contacts a flat surface area, such as an interiorsurface of a bore of an external groove. Thus, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is understood to include a multi-part housing having at leasttwo housing sections and wherein at least one of the housing sections isformed by stamping and the section has a bend or a curved surface formedby pressing the surface against a die. As shown, two such housingsections are used and attached together to form a housing groove foraccommodating a canted coil spring comprising plurality of coils andwherein at least several of the coils each comprises a dimple. Thedimple 410 defines a low area or region of the coil, such as a concavearc region, in between two raised regions to form two contact points 412414 when the coil contacts a flat surface area.

FIG. 54 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 240 of a connectorhousing 230, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 200together and welding a seam or parting line. The connector housing 230is similar to the housing of FIGS. 14 and 15 and is configured forprojecting into a bore of an exterior housing. Alternatively, theconnector housing 230 can be similar to the connector housing of FIG. 1.The housing groove is generally V-shape and has two sidewalls. The coil36 is similar to the coil 36 of FIG. 53 and has a dimple 410 definingtwo contact points when the coil contacts a flat surface area.

FIG. 55 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 30 and has a major axis and a minor axis. The coil is turnedwhen positioned in the housing groove and has a major axis that is widerthan the groove width. The coil has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 56 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 31 and has a dimple 410 defining two contact points 412, 414when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 57 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 32 and has a dimple 410 defining two contact points 412, 414when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 58 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 located in a housing groove 140 of a connector housing 130, which isformed by attaching two housing sections 100 together and welding a seamor parting line. The housing groove is generally square with a flatbottom and two parallel sidewalls and a groove width. The coils 36 aresimilar to the coils 36 shown with reference to FIG. 34 and one of thecoil loop has a dimple 410 defining two contact points 412, 414 when thecoil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 59 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 37 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

defined by the end most surface of the bottom wall of the housingsection (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 38 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 61 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 39 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 62 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 40 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface. The coil 36 alsoresembles a heart shape.

FIG. 63 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 41 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 64 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 42 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 65 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 43 and one of the sides has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 66 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 located in a housing groove 140 of a connector housing 130, which isformed by attaching two housing sections 100 together and welding a seamor parting line. The housing groove is generally square with a flatbottom and two parallel sidewalls and a groove width. The coil 36 issimilar to the coil 36 shown with reference to FIGS. 47 and 29A and hasmultiple loops 374 forming a three-leaf clover-like shape. In thepresent embodiment, one of the loops has a dimple 410 defining twocontact points 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface.

FIG. 67 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 49 and has two dimples, a first dimple 338 formed by an internalloop 336, as previously described, and a second dimple 410 on one of thesides of the coil 36 to define two contact points 412, 414 with the flatsurface of the housing groove. The side of the coil with the firstdimple 338 can contact a flat surface to create two contact points orcan engage a convex projection on a pin to form a latching connection.

FIG. 68 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 26A and has two dimples, a first dimple 338 formed by aninternal loop 336, as previously described, and a second dimple 410 onone of the sides of the coil 36 to define two contact points 412, 414with the flat surface of the housing groove. The side of the coil withthe first dimple 338 can contact a flat surface to create two contactpoints or can engage a convex projection on a pin to form a latchingconnection.

FIG. 69 shows a canted coil spring 148 comprising a plurality of coils36 (only one shown) located in a housing groove 140 of a connectorhousing 130, which is formed by attaching two housing sections 100together and welding a seam or parting line. The housing groove isgenerally square with a flat bottom and two parallel sidewalls and agroove width. The coil 36 is similar to the coil 36 shown with referenceto FIG. 52 and the curved side 404 has a dimple 410 defining two contactpoints 412, 414 when the coil contacts a flat surface. The lower sidehas a straight segment 270 for contacting the groove bottom of thehousing groove along a line contact.

The present disclosure is further understood to include methods formaking and for using any one or more of the various connector assembliesand connector components discussed herein.

Although limited embodiments of stamped housing sections and canted coilsprings and their components have been specifically described andillustrated herein, many modifications and variations will be apparentto those skilled in the art. Furthermore, elements and featuresexpressly discussed for one embodiment but not for another may equallyapply provided the functionality or structures do not conflict. Thus,unless the context indicates otherwise, like features for one embodimentare applicable to another embodiment. Accordingly, it is to beunderstood that the housing sections, the canted coil springs and theircomponents constructed according to principles of the disclosed device,system, and method may be embodied other than as specifically describedherein. The disclosure is also defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A connector assembly comprising: a connectorhousing comprising a first housing section attached to a second housingsection and having an interior cavity with a housing groove; wherein thefirst housing section comprises a first bottom wall with an endmostsurface and a first sidewall coupled to the first bottom wall at anangle; wherein the second housing section comprises a second bottom wallwith an endmost surface and a second sidewall coupled to the secondbottom wall at an angle; wherein the first bottom wall and the secondbottom wall define a groove bottom of the housing groove and the firstsidewall and the second sidewall define two sidewalls of the housinggroove; wherein the endmost surfaces of the first housing section andsecond housing sections are welded together to form the connectorhousing having two opening.
 2. The connector assembly of claim 1,wherein the first housing section and the second housing section aresubstantially identical.
 3. The connector assembly of claim 1, whereinthe two openings align to receive a pin.
 4. The connector assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the angle of the first housing section is a rightangle, an acute angle, or an obtuse angle.
 5. The connector assembly ofclaim 1, further comprising a canted coil spring located in the housinggroove, wherein the canted coil spring comprises a plurality of coilsand wherein each of the plurality of coils comprises a dimple.
 6. Theconnector assembly of claim 5, wherein the coils with the dimples eachcomprises a straight segment.
 7. The connector assembly of claim 1,wherein the angle of the first housing section is a right angle and theangle of the second housing section is a right angle.
 8. The connectorassembly of claim 7, further comprising a canted coil spring located inthe housing groove and wherein the canted coil spring comprises aplurality of coils each with three or more straight segments anddefining an angle α and angle β between the three or more straightsegments.
 9. The connector assembly of claim 8, wherein a base of eachof the plurality of coils has a straight segment for forming a linecontact with a bottom surface of the housing groove.
 10. The connectorassembly of claim 8, wherein angle α is equal to angle β, angle α isgreater than angle β, or angle α is less than angle β.
 11. The connectorassembly of claim 10, wherein angle α is equal to angle β, angle α isgreater than angle β, or angle α is less than angle β.
 12. The connectorassembly of claim 9, further comprising a dimple on a segment of each ofthe plurality of coils for forming two contact points at each of theplurality of coils.
 13. A method of assembling a connector comprising:providing a connector housing comprising at least two housing sectionsand wherein at least one of the two housing sections has a contouredformed by cold working a die; said housing comprising a housing groovecomprising a bottom wall located between two sidewalls; placing a cantedcoil spring inside the housing groove, said canted coil springcomprising a plurality of coils each with three or more straightsegments and defining an angle α and angle β between the three or morestraight segments; and wherein a base of each coil forms a line contactwith the bottom wall of the housing groove.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the connector housing has two openings and wherein a pin isinserted through a ring center of the canted coil spring and the twoopenings of the connector housing.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinthe pin comprises a convex protrusion and wherein the plurality of coilseach comprises a dimple in contact with the convex protrusion.
 16. Themethod of claim 14, wherein angle α is equal to angle β, angle α isgreater than angle β, or angle α is less than angle β.
 17. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the plurality of coils each comprises a dimple andwherein each coil has two contact points with the pin at the dimple. 18.The method of claim 14, wherein two of the three straight segments areside segments and one of the three straight segments is a bottom segmentjoining the two side segments, and wherein a curved upper segment joinsthe two side segments.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the curvedupper segment has a dimple.